The Unexpected
by ArchimedesAckermann
Summary: The Mist is to protect the family with deceptions and lies, to create something from nothing, and nothing from something. She will bear the burden of deception forever, until she can release herself from her own illusions of him.
1. Varia

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

**There's romance in this, but it's mostly action. I'm not sure who should be with the OC, but I'm thinking Bel x OC x Gokudera, in a love triangle.**

Chapter 1

"You are fit to be the Mist Guardian of the Funeral Wreaths."

"I am honored, Byakuran-sama."

* * *

A pretty American girl smiled at her partner. "Sawada Tsunayoshi? Hello, I'm Elizabeth. But you can call me Liza."

"Liza? Konnichiwa, Liza-san. You can call me Tsuna," the brown haired boy said softly. "Are you from America?"

"Yes, but my father was from Italy."

"Italy?" Tsuna's eyes were wide. "Oh."

"Yeah, and-watch it!" Liza quickly grabbed Tsuna's hand, preventing him from pouring the vinegar into the large beaker full of baking soda. "You're supposed to pour the vinegar after the salt!"

"Hey! Don't touch Tenth like that, woman!" a silver haired boy shouted angrily, pulling out a stick. Wait, was that dynamite?

"G-geez, dude, sorry," Liza held up her hand in surrender, letting go of Tsuna. "And why do you call him Tenth?"

"Cause he the Tenth!"

Facepalming, Liza shook her head. "Cuz that definitely clears everything up," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, it does, cause he's the best candidate for-"

Tsuna slapped a hand over Gokudera's mouth, face red. "He doesn't know what he's talking about," Tsuna said, flustered.

Liza raised an eyebrow, "Err, okay, then. That was weird."

"So why'd you move here from America?" Tsuna asked, trying to steer clear of the subject.

"Oh," Liza's face darkened. "My father died. He was part of the military and died in Iraq. So I moved here to live with my aunt."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tsuna said softly.

Liza smiled, "It's fine. My father died an honourable death for our country."

"Hey, Tsuna!" a boy with dark brown hair and eyes greeted. He looked at Liza. "Ah, a new student? My name's Yamamoto Takeshi. You can call me Yamamoto."

She grinned, "I'm Elizabeth. You can call me Liza."

"Nice to meet you, Liza-san," Yamamoto inclined his head warmly. "Ah, you have an American accent."

"Yup, I was born in Italy, but my father moved our family to America," Liza explained.

Gokudera raised an eyebrow, "Italy?"

"Yeah," the girl brushed back a strand of blond hair.

"Tsuna-kun, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun! You guys already met Liza-chan?" Haru and Kyoko called out, running up to meet them at the entrance to Namimori Middle.

"Haru, Kyoko-chan! Konnichiwa!" Liza smiled widely.

"Li-chan! How was school?"

"It was great! I met Tsuna, Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-san," Liza said gesturing to the three boys behind her.

"Ah!" Kyoko exclaimed happily, "All three of you are here, and you guys can help us girls hold our stuff!"

Haru nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! C'mon, let's go! Lambo and I-pin are already here too!"

"W-wait, wha?" Liza was pulled along, along with the three boys who were just as puzzled.

"We're going shopping!" Haru exclaimed happily.

Liza opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "Uhh?"

"There's no use saying no, Liza-san," Yamamoto grinned. "These two girls are like an army when they are set on something."

Liza nodded weakly, "Uh, okay then."

They arrived at the mall, and Haru and Kyoko immediately grabbed onto Liza, pulling her into a store.

"Wow, Liza-chan! You look really pretty in this!" Kyoko exclaimed happily, thoughtfully eyeing the slimming dress they forced Liza to adorn.

"Oh, uh, heh, thanks?" Liza stood there stiffly, "But can I-"

"No!" Haru commanded. Liza let out a yelp, and pouted.

"Come on, Kyoko-chan, we're buying this," Haru said firmly, examining the dress with concentration.

"Wai-" Liza protested, after stepping out of the dress. "I don't have money on me!"

"It's fine!" Kyoko smiled sweetly. "We'll buy it for you as a welcoming gift!"

"Y-you really don't need to!" Liza pleaded. "It's very kind, but-"

"Nope! We're buying it for you," Haru put an end to Liza's pleading. "It look's beautiful on you. You have to buy it!"

As they left the shop, Haru and Kyoko dumped the bags into the boys' hands. "Alright, where else do we go?"

Tsuna and the others sagged under the weight of the many shopping bags. Liza bit back a sympathetic smile, but before she could say anything, a loud commotion interrupted her. "What's happening?"

A man with long white-blond hair stood on a rooftop, fighting a young boy with short straw colored hair. The younger boy is teetering at the edge of the roof, as he retreats from the other man's relentless attacks.

"He's about to fall off!"

A small child suddenly appeared beside Tsuna. But before he could say anything, Liza blurted out, "Wait, why is the Varia here?"

The small child turned to stare at her, "Who are you? How do you know about the Varia?"

"Voi!" the man with the long hair shouted, leaping off after the smaller boy, who hurriedly shoved a intricately designed box into Tsuna's hands.

"What's this?" the man shouted, smirking. "A bunch of outsiders making a crowd? Any trash who gets in my way will be cut!"

Reborn poked Haru's shoulder. "Women and children should be evacuated."

"Wait, I can fight!" Liza protested.

Reborn narrowed his eyes at her, "Can you?"

"Yeah! My father trained me, and he brought me to some military camps in America!" Liza said.

"Fine, but don't get hurt," Reborn ushered the other two girls and Lambo and I-pin away.

The younger boy grabbed Tsuna's hand, pulling him away. Liza stood up, and looked to Yamamoto and Gokudera. "Who the hell is he?" Gokudera snarled. "And hey! Where are you taking the tenth?"

"The tenth?" Liza frowned, and then stared up at the man who was wearing a Varia uniform. The Vongola Ninth must be choosing his successor. But why would the Varia be here? Isn't the Varia allied with the Vongola? "The Vongola Decimo?"

Gokudera spun around to squint at her, "What do you know?"

Before she was able to reply, the Varia man blasted an explosive right in front of the young boy and Tsuna. "Juudaime!"

Liza's eyes widened, as she watched the younger boy get thrown into a building. She reached out, just as the long haired man brought his sword down. However, Gokudera got there first, throwing his bombs at the man.

Liza watched as the man dodged the bombs with agility and clarity. Then Yamamoto attacked. Liza narrowed her eyes. This man was from the Varia. He could not be so easily defeated by a middle schooler.

And she was right.

Both Yamamoto and Gokudera lay on the basalt ground, hurt and defeated. Liza rushed to them, assuming she was unnoticed by the white haired man.

She tried to tend to their wounds, such as the nasty bruise on Gokudera's head, but she was distracted from Tsuna in his dying will mode fighting the Varia man. She saw the boy give something to Tsuna behind the wreckage, and...

Her eyes widened as he blasted away the rubble. Liza's gaze locked onto the box Tsuna was holding. It seemed quite familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had saw the crest on the lid before.

The way the man stood there with his sword, she couldn't not do anything. Before she could think, she was on her feet, and between Tsuna and the man. "Dude, you really should pick on someone your own size," she taunted, tilting her chin up defiantly.

The man's eyes widened slightly, before grinning. "Ah, a prettier piece of trash standing in my way? Sorry, but I make no exceptions."

"Oh really?" from her holsters, she drew twin sets of guns. "Let's play then."

The man didn't hesitate to lunge, and she neatly deflected the hit, edging away from Tsuna. She fired the gun she was holding with her left hand, aiming for his right shoulder.

While he deflected that, she pulled the trigger of the right handed gun. Not to her surprise, he also dodged that one.

Liza vaulted over him, landing neatly behind the man, firing her guns in quick succession.

"Not bad, trash," the man muttered.

"Right back at you," she retorted.

Suddenly, before any of them could react, a whip lashed out, slapping the basalt ground angrily.

"You really haven't changed, Superbi Squalo."

**So, what do you guys think? Please read and review! Grazie mille, for reading this. :)**


	2. Bucking Bronco

**Hello! And, special thanks to Pandakat312. Grazie mille for liking it! **

Chapter 2

Liza stared in astonishment as a tall, dignified man stood there, whip in hand. The man with white hair, who was deemed as 'Squalo,' glared at the newcomer.

"Dino-san?"

Dino? Liza shrugged off the unfamiliar name, and turned to face the man named Dino.

"Getting so serious with children," his gaze fell on the girl, "and fighting a girl? Aren't you embarrassed?"

Liza saw Squalo's eyes narrow and dart towards Tsuna, who was kneeling there in his underwear, eyes wide in shock. "If you want to continue your tasteless game, I'll take you on," Dino said, eyes reduced to slits.

The girl raised an eyebrow as she saw Squalo hesitate, and she gazed at Dino with new found interest. A man who could make a Varia member hesitate? Impressive.

Putting on a mask of bravado, the long haired man shouted, "Vooiii! It'd be fun to take you on here and now, Bucking Bronco!"

Bucking Bronco? What kind of name is that?

"But the boss won't like it if I take on the Family Alliance," Squalo reasoned. "So I'll go home quietly."

Liza was about to sigh in relief, when Squalo suddenly gripped Tsuna's hair, yanking him up. "There's no way I'll do that!"

She surged forward, gun cocked and ready, but Dino was quicker. "Let go of Tsuna!" his whip lashed out like a pouncing snake.

Blocking the hit with his sword, Squalo let loose three explosives that momentarily blinded everyone else.

When the smoke cleared, Squalo was standing on the rooftop, "For your sakes, I'll leave their lives in your hands!"

"But I'll take this with me!" he flashed the crest on the box at Dino, Tsuna and the blond boy.

Dino growled, and the blond boy gasped. "The Vongola Rings!"

Liza narrowed her eyes. The Vongola Rings? Are they like the Mare Rings? Her hand went up to the chain on her neck, clasping a dark blue ring with slightly bent wings on either side of the gem.

"Vongola Rings?" Tsuna asked, puzzled.

"See ya!" Squalo shouted, before leaping away.

The blond boy staggered up, "H-halt!" But before he could make it very far, he stumbled and collapsed on his knees.

"Don't push yourself," Dino said softly.

"Pursuing him would not be smart," Reborn said.

Liza whirled around. So now he speaks?

"R-reborn! Why are you stepping up now?" Tsuna asked, still in his underwear. "Why didn't you help me?"

Shrugging like it was no big deal, Reborn replied, "I'm not allowed to attack him."

"Why not?" Tsuna asked.

Pausing, Reborn stared up at Tsuna. "Because he is part of the Vongola Family as well."

Liza nodded, "The Varia."

Dino turned to look at her, "What do you know about the Varia?"

"A Vongola nearly killed me?!" Tsuna shrieked.

"Boss," Dino's men addressed him. "They're not in good shape."

Dino sent Liza one last calculating look before turning to see his men helping Yamamoto and Gokudera up. He picked the blond boy up, "Yeah, Tsuna we'll talk later. You too, miss. We need to get them to the hospital."

"Yamamoto, Gokudera!" Tsuna rushed over to them.

"Tenth, you're okay!"

"Tsuna!"

Liza turned to Reborn. "Tsuna's the Vongola Decimo?"

"You know about the mafia?" Reborn looked up at her.

"Well, my father, the one who died in the military, he, well, he," Liza hesitated, and looked to Reborn, who nodded for her to continue. "He was part of the Varia," she blurted.

Reborn looked at her sharply, "The Varia?"

"His name was Antonio Lovion. He was one of the captains of the Varia," Liza explained nervously.

"I thought you said you came from America," Reborn pointed out, eyes suspicious.

"I am from America, but my birthplace was Italy. My mother was part of the Giglionero Family, and the two of them met at a party. They married, and had me, but a few years after, the boss of the Varia ordered my mother killed. So my father fled to America to protect me," Liza muttered.

Reborn thought for a while, and nodded. "Okay, I believe you, but maybe Tsuna and the others would want to know about this."

Liza nodded reluctantly, after seeing someone from the Varia try to kill Tsuna, she wasn't sure what their reactions would be like.

"I'll defeat him the next time I see him!" Gokudera vowed, slamming his fist into his hand.

"Maybe he's still in the area," Yamamoto said, looking around.

Liza raised an eyebrow, "I don't think we'll be able to defeat him. He's strong and a very very good fighter."

"You guys should go home," Reborn suggested, though it didn't sound like a suggestion.

Gokudera and Yamamoto stared, "Wait, why?"

"You must have realized it from the last fight. With your current combative skills, the two of you will only be in the way," Reborn said bluntly.

Liza cringed along with Yamamoto and Gokudera. Reborn, that's harsh on them. "What about this woman?" Gokudera protested, gesturing at Liza.

"What about her? She was able to hold her own against Superbi Squalo," Reborn frankly replied.

Liza winced. Geez, Reborn, you're making them hate me! Well, at least Gokudera. Indeed, the bomber was glaring at her with distinct dislike.

Tsuna jumped up as well, "Reborn! What are you saying?"

"Come on, Tsuna. We're going. Liza, if you want to come, you can come too." Reborn threw a rope around Tsuna, and started to drag him off.

Liza turned to look at Gokudera and Yamamoto, both who didn't look at her. She swallowed guiltily. Dino gestured, "You can come with us, miss."

She nodded, walking with them. Liza kept her head down, feeling immensely guilty somehow.

"So, miss, what's your name?" Dino asked, breaking the silence.

"E-elizabeth, sir," she replied softly.

"Elizabeth? That's a pretty name. I wonder how a pretty girl with a pretty name was able to hold her own against one of the most powerful of the Varia," Dino asked, barely masking the suspicion in his voice. "How would you know about the Varia?"

"My father," Liza replied, repeating the things she told Reborn.

After hearing her explanation, Dino nodded, "Antonio Lovion? I remember hearing a name like that before, when I was young. So what brings you to Japan? You could have stayed in America."

"The only family member I have left lives here." They fell into a silence again, until Liza asked, "What does the Varia want with the Vongola Rings?"

"You know what the Vongola Rings are?"

"Are they similar to the Mare Rings?" she knew she was taking a risk, a risk that might foil Byakuran-sama's carefully thought out plan.

Dino turned to her, "The Mare Rings? Yeah, I guess. How do you know about the Mare Rings? They haven't been mentioned for a long time."

"My father knows a song, about the Vongola, the Mare and the Arcobaleno. The clams, the sea, and the rainbow," Liza admitted.

* * *

At the hospital, they met up with Reborn and Tsuna. "How's Basil doing, Romario?" Dino asked.

"His life isn't in any danger. Looks like he was trained well," Romario replied. "His wounds are shallow."

"Um," Tsuna timidly cut in, "What is he? Is he a member of the Vongola?"

"No," Dino said, "he's not Vongola. But one thing we know for sure, is that he's on your side."

Tsuna did a double take, "Ah? What's going on? My enemy's part of the Vongola, and my ally isn't? Besides, I don't have any enemies or allies!"

"I guess that's not true anymore," Dino sighed.

"It's because the rings are on the move," Reborn explained, due to Tsuna's confused look.

"Rings?" Tsuna looked down at the Basil. "He mentioned that. Something about the Vongola Rings?"

"Yes, the official name is the Vongola Half Rings. These rings were supposed to be hidden in a secret location for three more years," Reborn mused. "They are the Vongola Family's treasure."

Tsuna bent down, "Are they really expensive rings?"

"They certainly are priceless, but that's not all," Reborn replied. "An untold amount of blood has been spilled over these rings in the Vongola history."

Liza raised her eyebrows. That's not surprising. She gently tugged on the chain around her neck that disappeared into her shirt.

_"Do you like the ring?" Byakuran-sama asked softly._

_Liza blushed, "Y-yeah, thanks."_

_"I have to go back to the future, Li-chan, but I want you to go to Japan," he instructed gently._

_Liza looked at him with wide eyes, "Why?"_

"Thank goodness the white haired guy took them!" Tsuna's voice broke into her thoughts.

Judging by the look on Dino's face, something was going to happen. "The ones Squalo took are fake."

Liza snorted with amusement as she watched Tsuna freak out. "Well," she said, grinning and laughing, "I'll be off, then. Peace, dudes."

Once out of the hospital, she started a walk to Gokudera's house. She wanted to drop by to see if he was okay.

* * *

Nearing his apartment, Liza tensed. There was someone following her. Her hands drift to her guns. At the gate to Gokudera's apartment, she whirled around and shot two knives away from her.

"Ushishishishi..." a voice laughed. "Just as good as Squalo said."

_Varia._ Liza's eyes darted back and forth. "Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want with me?"

"Ushishishi, the peasant dares to speak to the prince like that?"

Liza frowned, puzzled. "Prince? What the hell, dude? There are no princes, unless you count the UK and Spain."

"Hey, what're you- Liza?" Gokudera had come out of the house, lured by the sound of gunshots.

"Ushishishi, who else has come to play? You should bow down to the prince, peasant."

Gokudera scowled, "Hey! Shut the hell up, idiot!" He turned to Liza, "What are you doing here?"

"It's not nice to ignore the prince, eh?"

Liza smiled sheepishly, "Well, I guess just wanted to see if you were alright."

Gokudera glared, "I'm fine."

"Watch out!" Liza pushed him away, guns jerking back from the recoil. Two small clangs were heard as the knives fell out of the air.

"Ushishishi, don't destroy my knives," a boy appeared, blond hair veiling his eyes. A crown rested on his head, signalling his royalty.

"Who are you?" Gokudera pulled out his dynamite.

"You don't know who I, the royal prince is? How sad," the boy mocked.

"You're the one who's sad," Liza shot back, before seriously regretting her filterless brain.

A dangerous smile lifted the boy's lips. "The peasant is back talking the prince. The prince should kill her."

Liza cringed. She should not have angered a man of the Varia. "I know you are from the Varia. What do you want with us?"

"Ushishishi, you know of the Varia? Then you should know why I have decided to grace you with my presence," the boy snarked.

Gokudera snarled, "What do you mean? What's the Varia?"

Liza facepalmed. "The Varia, an elite assassination squad, a branch under the Vongola."

The boy smirked, "I am Belphegor, known as Belphegor the Ripper, the prince of a fallen empire."

**What do you think? Who should Liza be put with? Prince Bel or Hurricane Bomb Hayato? Please read and review!**


	3. Distraction

Chapter Three

Liza growled, terrified, like when she met Squalo, and furious as well. She hated the Varia. They were pathetic excuses for human beings. "I don't give a fuck to who you are, but I will rip you to shreds."

Gokudera shot her a startled look, surprised by her sudden change of character. Belphegor smirked, "I suppose you will go through with that threat, judging by your origins."

Liza glared, "What do you know about me?"

"Daughter of the infamous Antonio Lovion and the dangerously beautiful Himeritsu Sakura, you have come back to the world of your parents. Shame to hear that your father died," the blond prince drawled.

Rage boiled and churned inside of the girl. Without thinking, she fired continuously at the boy, blinded by her hate and anger.

"Ushishishi, angry now, are we? And reckless," the prince taunted.

Blasting away the knives the boy threw, Liza blurred across the street to face him. Belphegor's mouth opened slightly, astonished by the girl's speed.

* * *

Gokudera stood there, gaping at the two. After a while, he shook himself out of his stupor, and decided to call Tsuna. "Hey, Tenth!"

"Gokudera-kun! What's up?" Tsuna's voice drifted over the phone. "What's all that noise?"

Gokudera snuck a glance at the battle. "It's Liza. She's fighting another person from the Varia. It's like she's gone crazy!"

"What?" Tsuna shouted over the noise. "Is she hurt? I-I'll go get Yamamoto and go over there with Reborn."

"Hurry, Juudaime!" he shouted as he dodged a stray knife. After he hung up, he looked down at his dynamite. Gokudera's eyes darkened as he remembered what Reborn said. "_With your current combat skills, you will only be in the way."_ And then stared at Liza's fight. _She's so strong and beautiful... wait what? Nevermind. I won't be of much help, but..._

He darted into the battle as well. The two of them fought like they've been fighting together forever. Liza was on the offensive, aiming to wound. Gokudera was on the defensive, destroying the knives with his bombs.

"Liza-san, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna yelled.

Gokudera spun his head around, startled. The prince laughed, "Ushishi, when you fight, never lose your concentration."

Liza slammed into him, knocking him off his feet. Sprawled on the road, Gokudera was about to snarl at her, until he saw the blood pooling around her. "What did you do to her?" he shouted, scrambling to kneel beside her.

Belphegor was quiet, staring at Liza, whose hands were trying to staunch the flow of blood. Seeing three other people arrive, including the Arcobaleno, he stepped back into the shadows. "The prince will be taking his leave."

* * *

Liza's green eyes were staring up into the sky, glazed over with pain. "G-gokudera-san," she stuttered.

"Don't talk! You'll only get worse if you talk. We need to get you to a hospital," Gokudera said frantically.

Yamamoto steps up, to slide an arm around her shoulders and under her thighs to pick her up and carry her bridal style. "Lead the way," the baseball player said.

* * *

At the hospital, Yamamoto set Liza down on a stretcher, and she was immediately wheeled into an operating room. Gokudera buried his face into his hands, "It's all my fault, Tenth! It was because I lost my concentration, and Liza tried to save me! What if she dies?"

"She won't die," Reborn said. "It's a wound on her side."

Tsuna rested a hand on Gokudera's shoulder. "It's fine, she chose to push you away. It's not your fault."

* * *

Liza floundered between reality and darkness. She felt the tell tale slide of needle against skin, the breath of cold air against her tender, wounded skin.

"All done," the doctor said. "You'll be fine, miss. But, if I may ask, what is the thing on your chest?"

Liza's eyes snapped wide open at the question, the foggy quality to everything gone. Her hand reached up to trace the edges of the box that was under her hospital gown. "A family heirloom. Everyone in the family gets it infused into their chests."

The doctor nodded, but didn't seem too convinced.

* * *

The doctor emerged from the operating room. Her face was more relaxed, "She's fine. Just give her a few weeks to rest, and she'll be back to full health."

Everyone sighed with relief. "Can we see her?" Gokudera asked eagerly.

"Yup, she's awake already, so you can go in," the doctor said.

Gokudera rushed in, "Are you okay? I'm sorry, it was all my fault!"

To their surprise, Liza sat up slowly, smiling. "I'm fine. I heal quick, so everything's good. And it's not your fault, Gokudera-kun. I chose to push you away."

Gokudera faltered, and then smiled. Liza blinked in surprise. It was the first time she had seen him smile like that to anyone but Tsuna.

**A/N So, for now, AnimeLover (as a guest) has said that Bel x OC is better. Any other opinions? **

**And please read and review! **

**Grazie mille!**

**I've been thinking that after the Guardians get their rings and Liza explains her family to Tsuna and them, I'm gonna do a time skip to the Future Arc, where the real action happens. :)**


	4. Half Rings

**A/N So, to Khrforever D (as a guest), yeah, Torikabuto is a fake Funeral Wreath in my story, and I'm gonna skip the Varia Arc, since Liza's not really gonna do much in it, unless people tell me not to skip that Arc. And in the Future Arc, present Liza's gonna go with Tsuna and them to the future.**

**I will decide between Gokudera and Bel, or someone else? Hehehehe... *laughs evilly***

**Expect the unexpected, my dear readers.**

**Please read and review!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Four

In the hospital, Liza was thinking of their encounter with Prince Belphegor the Ripper. How did they know my name? And, she thought of Squalo, the young man with long white hair, why does Squalo look so familiar?

"Hey, Liza-san!" Tsuna greeted, opening the door.

Liza glanced up, surprised, "Oh! Hi! It's early in the morning, whatcha doing here?"

"We got rings!" Gokudera exclaimed happily. "And I'm Tenth's right hand man!" he crowed proudly.

Liza grinned, "That's great!"

"So, did you get a ring?" Tsuna inquired curiously.

The wounded girl shook her head, "Nope."

"Oh. That's surprising, judging by yesterday," Yamamoto mused.

"I guess it's because I haven't exactly known you guys for a long time. Only for a few days. Guardians are supposed to stick together for life. It'd be bad if you chose a wrong guardian, so it's rational that Reborn didn't choose me," Liza reasoned.

Reborn hopped onto Tsuna's head, "Yes, that's true."

"Hello, Reborn-san," Liza smiled gently.

Gokudera suddenly straightened, "Oh, yeah, I remembered something I wanted to ask you, Liza-san."

"Yes?" she prompted.

"Yesterday, when we were fighting Belphegor, he mentioned two people..."

Oh shit.

"...named Antonio Lovion and Hiremitsu Sakura," finished Gokudera.

Reborn looked at her, and she glanced at him, eyes pleading. Reborn gestured for her to tell them. Liza sighed, and said, "Well, I guess I should tell you guys now then." She paused, and took a deep breath, "The first time we saw Squalo yesterday, I immediately knew that he was part of the Varia. You know why I knew that?"

Gokudera's brows inched forward. "Are you a spy?"

She stared at him, then facepalmed, "No! If I was, why in the world would I be telling you?" Shaking her head, she continued, "My father was part of the Varia."

Yamamoto's eyes widened comically, as did Tsuna's and Gokudera's. "Wait, your father was part of the Varia? Didn't he, ya know... die?"

"Oh! So that's why you were so angry toward Belphegor," Gokudera exclaimed.

Liza nodded, narrowing her eyes in hatred, "Those pathetic excuses for human beings k-killed my m-mother. Since then, we lived in America."

"Those bastards," Gokudera agreed.

"Oh no!" Tsuna suddenly shrieked. "We're going to be late for school! Come on, Hibari's going to kill us!"

Liza smiled, and settled back into the hospital bed. "See you guys."

**Sorry, it's so short, but in the next chapter, it's going to be the beginning of the Future Arc. If you think it's too rushed, please tell me, and sorry if you wanted to see the Varia Arc, cause I think Liza would just be an extra character, nothing extraordinary during the Ring Conflict. **

**She will play a big part in the Future Arc.**

**Also, does anyone know where I can read Katekyo Hitman Reborn manga? **

**Read and review! **

**Grazie mille!**


	5. The Future, the Varia, the Attack

**A/N Happy belated birthday, Khrforever D! I hope you liked your birthday gift, then! :)**

**Enjoy! Read and review, please!**

Chapter Five (Future Arc)

"Reborn!"

Liza turned around, to see Gokudera running down the street. "Hey! Gokudera-kun! Whatcha doing?" she called out.

"Liza-san, have you seen Reborn-san?" Gokudera panted.

She frowned, "No, why? Did something happen to Reborn?"

"He's missing! Tenth said that Reborn was hit with Lambo's ten-year bazooka, and hasn't come back!" Gokudera said frantically.

"Wait, but when someone gets hit by the ten-year bazooka, doesn't their ten years in the future self show up? Where's the future Reborn?" Liza asked.

"That's the thing! No one replaced Reborn!" Gokudera wrung his hands.

"I can help! I'll go ask Sasagawa-senpai!" Liza took off in the opposite direction Gokudera was going.

"Kyoko-chan? Sasagawa-senpai?" Liza shouted, ringing the doorbell.

Haru opened the door, "Oh, Liza-chan! What brings you here?"

"Have you seen Reborn-san?" Liza asked.

"Oh, no, I'm looking for him as well. Kyoko-chan and Sasagawa-senpai hasn't see him either," Haru replied. "It's really worrying."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll go to Tsuna's house, see you!" Liza ran off. _Maybe if Lambo went through the ten-year bazooka, Adult Lambo can explain._

"Tsuna! Tsuna?" Liza banged on the door. _Hmm, that's weird. I guess I'll go find Gokudera again._

She turned around, and her eyes widened. _What the-_

* * *

_Where am I? _Liza looked around. She was in a colorful tube-like structure. _Did I just get hit by the ten-year bazooka?_

And she landed on the ground with a thump. She looked up, and tried to clear the pink smoke from her eyes. _Where am I?_

As the fog cleared, she took a step back in surprise. "B-Byakuran-sama?"

A tall man with spiky white hair turned. A jagged blue tattoo covered his left cheek right under his eye. "Li-chan. You look a lot younger. Like the first time we met each other."

"B-Byakuran-sama!" Liza immediately kneeled down. "I-I so glad to see you again!"

"Now, now, Li-chan, stand up. You don't need to kneel every time you see me. Now, why are you so young?"

"I-I don't know. I saw this dark thing rushing towards me. I think it was Lambo's ten-year bazooka," she realized. "That means I should be going back in five minutes!"

Byakuran smiled, and held out his arms. "I haven't seen you in a long time."

Liza threw her arms around him, feeling a flutter of her heart. She blushed. "Byakuran-sama. I'm so happy!"

"Do you have the ring I gave you?" Byakuran murmured by her ear.

Pulling away, she nodded, drawing the chain from under her shirt. Hanging there was a dark blue ring with bent wings. "I have it. But I don't know how to use it."

"All will be fine. You will learn eventually. Now, come, and sit. We have a lot to catch up on. Who are your new friends in Namimori?" Byakuran said, sitting down on a chair.

Liza sat down as well. "Oh, I did what you said, Byakuran-sama. I became friends with the Vongola Decimo."

Byakuran nodded. "That's what your future self told me. How did you get hit by the Vongola Lightning Guardian's bazooka?"

"We were looking for Reborn-san, so I ran over to Tsuna's house. But no one was there, and I turned around to see a large dark thing flying towards me. And I ended up here. I guess Tsuna was also hit by the bazooka," Liza thought.

Byakuran nodded grimly, "Vongola is here? That is good. And the Arcobaleno Reborn as well, huh?"

"Yes. But the strange this was, even when Reborn was hit by the bazooka, a ten year older Reborn didn't show up. So we became worried, and even more so when he didn't return after five minutes." Liza suddenly stopped.

"Liza?" Byakuran looked at her.

"It's been five minutes. I should be back by now," Liza looked around frantically. "What's happening?"

Byakuran also frowned. "This is very strange. Unless," he paused, then shook his head. "That's unlikely."

"What's unlikely?" Liza asked.

Byakuran shook his head, "Unless..."

"Maybe it is true. Tell me, Byakuran-sama," Liza suggested.

"Somehow, their future selves are trapped in a device, like what I used to spend half a year with you," Byakuran said.

"That's possible! Because, even Tsuna's older self didn't show," Liza said.

Byakuran frowned, "This is very puzzling. What could be happening? But anyways, currently, you are in Italy, and the only way for you to get back to Japan is through the Varia, whose HQ are stationed nearby. Vongola should be in Namimori. But as always, do not tell anyone that you know me or the Millefiore, or the Mare Rings."

Liza nodded obediently, "I won't let you down, Byakuran-sama!"

"That's a good girl. I suppose they'll get you a ring, since they think you don't have one. Maybe they'll even help me by training you!" Byakuran laughed.

Liza smiled brightly, "Grazie, Byakuran-sama!" Then her face grew dark and hardened, "Does it have to be the Varia? I'd rather die than ever meet them again."

"Li-chan," Byakuran patted her head, "don't be like that. Vongola's trust in you is very essential to our plan, remember? Our plan to take out the bad guys."

Liza noded enthusiastically, but inside, her admiration and love for Byakuran faltered for a second. From what she'd seen, Tsuna was anything but a bad person. But maybe he was talking about another family that they could eliminate through the Vongola. That thought didn't make her doubt lessen though.

"Do you still remember the address of the Varia's HQ?" Byakuran inquired, standing up.

Liza nodded, "Yeah, I remember."

"Then I will escort you to the door," Byakuran held out his arm like a gentleman.

Liza blushed, and nodded, "Grazie."

At the door to the elevator, Byakuran let Liza go, patting her head affectionately. "I'll see you soon, okay, Li-chan? This is the elevator I use, and it will drop you off at the back entrance, so no one will see. No worries about your cover blown. And don't forget to practice your illusions."

"Si!" Liza chirped, and the elevator doors slid shut.

* * *

Liza carefully knocked on the doors of the large and grand looking castle. She was terrified, and a little angry for being forced to come here of all places.

The door opened. "Voi! Who- Elizabeth Lovion?" a ten year older Squalo stood there, mouth open in shock. "Why are you so young looking?"

_Well, his voice volume doesn't seem to have changed over the years._ "Oh, er, hi, Squalo."

"You look way too young. What happened?" Squalo asked loudly.

Two more people showed up behind him. "Ushishi, Li-chan? You look so young."

"Bel-senpai, who is this?" came a monotonous voice.

"Well, you see, I'm from ten years ago," Liza explained. "I got hit by Lambo's ten year bazooka."

"Oh, that brat? Then why are you here? Just wait five minutes-" Squalo started.

Liza interrupted, "That's the thing! I've been here for about twenty minutes already! And I need to get to Namimori, so I can go to Tsuna!"

Squalo and Bel exchanged a look. "You don't know?" Squalo asked.

"Know what?" Liza was frowning, confused.

"That, in this time period, Vongola Decimo is dead."

"What?" Liza's eyes were wide, her mouth open. "That's not possible! Who killed him?"

"The Millefiore, under Byakuran's order," Bel said. "Vongola thought that they wanted to negotiate, but instead of negotiating, they shot him to death."

_Byakuran-sama ordered this?_ Liza blinked rapidly. _That's not possible. Tsuna's not a bad person! Why would Byakuran-sama do this?_ "Why? Why would they do that to Tsuna? Tsuna's not a bad person."

"Over these ten years," Squalo said, "two families merged together to form the Millefiore. There has been much conflict over the Vongola, Mare rings. So, to avoid such conflict, the idiot Vongola destroyed the Vongola Rings. And the Vongola Famiglia is on its way to destruction. The Millefiore dominates the Vongola in ring warfare."

"Ring warfare? The Mare Rings?" Liza asked. "And Tsuna destroyed the Vongola Rings? Th-that's... wow."

"Not just the Mare Rings, these rings," Squalo held up his hand, and on one of his fingers, was a ring. "People have been manufacturing rings that are powerful, but obviously not as powerful as the Mare and Vongola Rings."

_Byakuran-sama, why are you annihilating the Vongola?_ "I need to go to Namimori. Please, let me borrow the money and get a plane ticket to Japan," Liza begged.

Bel smirked, "Ushishishi, you will need to know how to fight."

Liza frowned, "I do know how to fight."

"With a ring and a box weapon," Squalo corrected.

"Oh," Liza looked down. "I don't have a ring. But I have a box!" She fumbled around and got out the dark blue box. "My future self dropped this when we switched places."

"Ushishishi, Fran, you have a Mist partner!" Bel snickered.

"Mist? As in the guardian?" Liza asked, thoroughly puzzled by this new era.

"Bel, shut up. You too, brat," Squalo addressed Bel and the other boy who was wearing a large frog hat. "Lovion, Mist is your attribute. There are seven attributes, like the guardians. Sky, Cloud, Storm, Rain, Thunder, Mist and Sun. You are Mist. For now, there are some Mist rings that the idiot, Giannini sent over. It's not of the best quality, but it'll be okay for now."

"B-but, I don't know how to use it," Liza squeaked as she followed Squalo, Bel and the boy named Fran into the HQ. Her terror had calmed down by now, and she realized that, these were not the people who killed her mother, so she should let go of the grudge.

"Bel, teach her how to use the box and how to light the ring," Squalo ordered.

"The prince will not train a peasant. Train the peasant yourself, peasant," Bel snarked.

Squalo glared at him, "Voi! Do it! Or you're going to be making the food with Lussuria!"

Bel grumbled, "Peasant." And Liza assumed that was a yes.

She followed Bel into a large training room. Silently, he threw something at the girl, who caught it with a yelp. "This is the ring?"

"Yeah," Bel stood there. "Put it on, peasant."

Liza glared, "I am not a peasant." But she put it on anyway. "What else do I do?"

"Make your resolve and Dying Will into a flame," Bel instructed, looking exceptionally bored.

Liza frowned, and thought. _My resolve. What is my resolve? Help Byakuran-sama? But Tsuna isn't a bad person. Go back to the past? No. Make sure Tsuna and the others who get hit by the bazooka are safe? Maybe._

Opening her eyes, her ring was still unlit. "Peasant, think of your resolve as a flame," Bel ordered.

Liza clenched her fists. _What is my resolve?_ "Bel-san, what is your resolve?"

Bel looked at her, surprised. "To kill."

Liza facepalmed. _That was useless. _She thought of Gokudera, Yamamoto, Tsuna, Haru and Kyoko-chan. _Protect them the best I can?_ Then she remembered her Mare Ring. _I can never protect them, unless... I can't. Byakuran-sama trusts me to do this right. But I... _She thought of Byakuran-sama comforting her during the night when she woke up from a nightmare. She thought of him who saved her from taking her own life. A burst of love warmed her heart. _Love Byakuran-sama._

A dark blue flame ignited on the gem in the ring. Bel's mouth dropped open. "...Most of the time, it takes more than a day to master it."

"Wow," Liza examined the flame. _Love Byakuran-sama._ "What else do I do?"

"Take out your box, and insert the flame into it."

Liza lifted the box, and pushed the ring into it. Pulling away the ring, the box flew open, and dark blue flames poured out. A dark creature burst from the box. It flew around the room once and landed neatly on its master's shoulder. Liza's eyes were wide, and she stared at it. "Wow," she breathed, reaching out to stroke the feathers of the majestic bald eagle perched on her shoulder.

Bel nodded, "Good. Now, what weapon do you use to fight?"

"My guns." Liza drew them out.

"Our crappy boss also uses guns. He's able to infuse his bullets with his flame. You should try too."

Liza stared at the gun, and then at Bel. "How?"

"How am I supposed to know, peasant? I'm not the boss," Bel said.

Liza rolled her eyes, and cocked her gun. Pointing it at a target, she lit her ring. Glancing at Bel, she hesitantly fired. A bullet came flying out, but no flame.

"Failed."

Liza immediately fired up, "Well, you didn't exactly tell me _how_ to infuse it!"

Bel smirked, "Ushishishi, you can ask the boss."

"Uh, he's not gonna help me. I think he'd rather kill me," Liza deadpanned, irritated. "You know what, I'll do it myself! Geez, I don't need your help."

"Ushishishi, I have better things to do than train a peasant," Bel sneered, and sauntered out of the room.

_Bastard._ Liza stared at her gun, and lit her ring again. She imagined the flames sliding into her gun, twisting into the bullets. Bam! The bullet that came out was surrounded by a veil of indigo flames. When it hit the target, the target shattered into a million pieces. Liza stared, awestruck. _So that is the power of this ring._ She snuck a look around. No one was there. She cautiously took off the ring the Varia gave her, and reached for her Mare Ring. _Love Byakuran-sama._ The Mare Ring burst into flame. She lifted her arms, gripping the guns.

_Infuse them with your power, _she commanded the ring. A bullet of large indigo flames shot out of the barrel, blasting a hole into the wall. She grinned, eyes dark and sinister. _Beautiful. _After hearing footsteps, she quickly switched rings, just in time for Squalo to storm in. "Voi! Don't destroy the room, brat!" He suddenly, paused, staring at the hole in the wall. "Did you do that?"

"Y-yeah," Liza admitted.

"Well, here's your ticket to Namimori. Just in time. You're leaving in ten minutes," Squalo handed her a ticket. "And here is a Mammon chain. It hides your ring's powers from the enemies."

Liza smiled gratefully, "Thanks!" After wrapping the chain around her ring, she smiled sheepishly, "Can I borrow another one? I might lose this one."

Squalo grumbled, but handed over another chain. Liza grinned, and pocketed the chain.

"Wait, Squalo, if I wasn't able to use my flame..." she trailed off, frowning.

He shrugged, "If you weren't able to use it, oh well, the ticket is already bought, so."

Liza gaped at him, "..."

* * *

Getting off the plane, she walked into the streets of Namimori. She stared at the empty streets. It looked very similar to the past Namimori, but the atmosphere was different. It was tense and fearful.

After wandering for a while, Liza facepalmed. _Of course I forget the fact that I have no idea where Tsuna and them would be. How stupid of me._

So she decided to go to her apartment. Another idiotic move.

When she got there, she froze in terror and shock. Two men in black suits paced in front of her house. And they wore rings.

Liza tried to turn and walk away, but one man had already seen her. "Hey, you!" the man called.

Liza cursed, and turned around, hoping they wouldn't recognize her. "May I help you?"

"Does she look like the Vongola brat?" the man asked his counterpart.

_Shit, they have a picture of me._

"Yes, definitely, but.. a bit too young," the man frowned, turning to narrow his eyes at her.

She stood there, restraining the urge to run.

"Look! She's wearing a ring. Like the ring that Vongola brat wears," the man lit his ring. "It's definitely her."

Liza backed away, "Wh-what are you t-talking about?"

Both men had their rings lit. Liza turned tail and ran for it. She heard slaps of feet against the concrete after her. _Crap_. She dodged into another street, running as fast as her legs allowed her to. Glancing back, she saw two glowing creatures chasing after her. _Box weapons. _She looked forward, and skidded to a stop. The two men stood in front of her, smirking.

Having no choice, she unwound the chain from the ring on her finger. It lit up in indigo flames and she slammed it into the box. Her eagle burst through, cawing loudly.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Vongola hideout in Namimori, Tsuna was talking to Giannini, Gokudera, Reborn and Lal Mirch.

"So, where's Liza-san?" Tsuna asked, "The older her."

"Oh, she was sent on a mission, but we haven't heard anything from her since she completed the mission. It's very worrying, since she's in Italy," Giannini explained.

"Ehh? She's in Italy!?" Tsuna exclaimed. "That's-"

Suddenly, alarms started to scream. Giannini bent over the keyboard, typing furiously. The radar appeared on the screen. "There has been a ring detected that is not of the enemies."

"Where?" Gokudera demanded.

A ring blinked on the screen. "That's near where Liza-san used to live!"

"But the power detected from the ring is not as strong as her's is supposed to be," Giannini said, frowning.

"Maybe Liza-san was also hit by the bazooka!"

"Where would she get the ring?" Yamamoto wondered.

"The Varia!" Tsuna realized. "Aren't the Varia HQ in Italy? Maybe she went to the Varia and got here!"

"They gave her a ring, but they would also have given her a Mammon chain," Lal said. "Unless she's been attacked. She is also one of the hunted."

"Then we have to go save her!" Gokudera shouted.

Lal narrowed her eyes, "Looks like she's fighting back. But the Varia wouldn't have taught her much."

"What are we waiting for, then? We have to go-!"

"We cannot be reckless," Lal cut off Gokudera. "There are enemies surrounding us. We have to go in small teams."

"Then a team of three will go," Tsuna decided.

"Tenth, I will go with you!" Gokudera volunteered eagerly.

Yamamoto nodded, "I will go too. Lal, you shouldn't go. You're hurt."

Lal stared at Tsuna and Gokudera. "No. These two don't know how to fight yet. They will be a burden. I will go with you. The other two do not need to go."

Tsuna and Gokudera both started to protest, until Reborn kicked Tsuna on the head. "Dame- Tsuna, Lal is right. The two of you will just be a burden."

Lal and Yamamoto walked out of the room. "You know where Lovion lives, correct?"

Yamamoto nodded, "Yup!"

* * *

Liza panted, both guns glowing dark blue. Her eagle, Liberty was behind her, fighting the men's box weapons. One man, with a Storm attribute, was holding a staff that ejected out red Storm flames.

The other, wielded a sword veiled in Cloud flames.

She blasted away the Storm flame that was thrown her way, dodging the sword that swung close to her. While trying to hit them with her bullets, she concentrated hard, and tried to remember what Byakuran had taught her about illusions.

_Focus. Imagine a scene. Manipulate the Mist flames to do your will._ She created four other versions of her, all holding guns.

"Come get me," they echoed.

All five of them fired their guns. The Cloud sneered, "Like we would fall for your cheap- Shit!"

A real bullet hit him in the shoulder, ripping through skin and flesh.

Taking this opportunity, Liza concentrated her flames into her left gun, until she felt the metal beginning to strain from the pressure. BAM!

The Cloud collapsed, and the Storm fell to his knees. "Wow, didn't think that'd work."

She called her eagle back, tucking away the box.

"Liza?" Yamamoto's familiar voice rang through the street.

She whipped around, and saw an older and much taller Yamamoto walking towards her with an unfamiliar girl. "Yamamoto?"

"Wow, you already know how to use your box weapons? And did you infuse your flames into your guns? That's what Xanxus does. Did the Varia teach you this?" Yamamoto asked.

Liza grumbled. "Bel was supposed to help me get this right, but knowing Bel, obviously he left after I lit my ring. Then Squalo comes and says that I'm leaving in ten minutes, and doesn't care whether not I've mastered lighting my ring. But I got it!"

"When did you get that ring?" the girl said.

"Oh, thirteen hours ago," Liza estimated.

"And you were able to use it? Unbelievable," the girl shook her head.

"Uh, so where are we headed to? Cause my house is under watch," Liza said.

"Rewrap your ring," Yamamoto ordered. "And follow me."

**A/N Do you like it? And yeah, she's in love with Byakuran! Teehee...**

**Do you guys think that I rushed the part of Liza lighting her ring?**

**Read and review! :)**

**Grazie mille!**


	6. The Lightning

**A/N Ciassu!**

**So what do you think about Liza loving Byakuran? Strange, right? :)**

**Read and review, please!**

**ENJOY!**

Chapter Six

In the base, Liza was greeted by Tsuna, Gokudera and Reborn. "Liza-san!"

"Tsuna, Gokudera-kun! Hey! You guys were hit by the bazooka too?" Liza asked.

"Yeah, that stupid cow," Gokudera grumbled.

Tsuna grinned at her sheepishly, "How did you get hit?"

"I was knocking on your door, but no one answered, so I turned around and suddenly I got hit. It's was very disorienting to wake up in Italy," Liza frowned.

"So the Varia helped you?" Gokudera asked incredulously.

Liza snorted, "More like told me to get my flames right and wing it. They literally gave my an hour to try to get my ring to light, and gave me a ticket, saying 'Good luck.'"

Tsuna gaped at her, "R-really? That's all? And I thought they did something good for once."

"It's lucky for them and her that she's unique," Lal Mirch said. "She was able to use her ring and her box weapon. And she was able to create an illusion."

Liza cursed inwardly. _Now, I'll have to lie again._

"An illusion? You're a Mist illusionist?" Tsuna's eyes were wide. "When were you able to create illusions?"

"Uh, well, I took a few lessons from Mammon after the Ring Conflict," Liza lied smoothly. It was half true. She had gone to Mammon afterwards for a few tips on illusions.

"Oh yeah, you told us that you were going to visit Mammon for tips for Chrome! So it would make sense that you are able to create illusions as well," Tsuna said.

Liza grinned sheepishly, "It was a good thing that the two men were really easy to trick."

"Tsuna-kun, Liza-chan!" Haru shouted, skidding to a stop in front of the surveillance room. "Kyoko's missing!"

Tsuna gaped, "What? What happened?"

"She left a note, saying that she would be going out to her house," Haru panted frantically.

"But we're surrounded by enemies!" Giannini exclaimed.

"We have to go rescue her!" Tsuna said. "This feels like deja vu!"

Liza smiled, but Giannini interrupted them urgently. "But Hibari's bird's SOS signals have stopped at Namimori Shrine!"

"We have to get to both of them? But Kyoko's the priority!" Tsuna declared.

"And Hibari's signal might be a trap!" Lal reminded.

"But it's our only lead to Hibari-san."

"How about we split up?" Yamamoto suggested.

Liza watched as Tsuna split the teams, and planned out how they were going to carry out the plans. She smiled. _He is a good leader, very natural. _

"Liza?" Tsuna asked, frowning and waving a hand at her.

She blinked, "Uh, what? Sorry, I blanked out."

"It's fine, I was just saying that you will be going with Gokudera and Yamamoto. I'll be fine with Lal," Tsuna said.

She nodded, "Great."

"Well, do you think you'll be doing okay with that D-level ring?" Lal looked at the ring with distaste. "It's a very weak ring. The future you had an A-level ring."

"Oh, uh, I think I'll be okay," Liza said.

"Wait, there's a captain here," Giannini said, pointing to the larger blinking red spot that indicated a ring.

Lal cursed, "That must be Gamma the Lightning, a very formidable enemy. Liza, we better get you a higher-level ring. Giannini, get her a A-level. If you can't B will do as well."

Giannini nodded furiously.

Liza followed Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were bickering as usual. On her finger was a B-ring, wrapped with a Mammon chain.

As they got closer to the Namimori Shrine, they started to slow down. Yamamoto was still trying to strike up a conversation with Gokudera.

Gokudera stopped, and Liza could feel the irritation and annoyance radiating from the bomber. He turned around to grip the front of Yamamoto's shirt. "Shut up. I only came here with you for the sake of Tenth. I'll only be tolerating you. Don't expect anything else."

Liza narrowed her eyes. _This isn't good. _She looked around, tensing slightly. "Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun. Please, stop."

Gokudera turned to stare at her, "Don't get involved with this."

Liza clenched her jaw, and looked up to the sky. "Guys."

Gokudera was snarling something at Yamamoto, ignoring her. She turned around. "Guys!" she shouted. They both turned to her. "Stop acting like you're two years old, Gokudera-kun! There's someone coming, you idiot! Stop fooling around!"

Gokudera let go of Yamamoto, shooting him a look. "Who?"

Liza tensed, and pointed up, "There."

Two men with red Storm flames hovered in the air, both holding weapons. Gokudera glanced at Liza, "Liza, you stay hidden." He unwrapped his ring and lit it. "The two of us got this."

Liza glared, "I can fight." But she stepped behind a tree, just in time for a blast from the Storm men to punch a crater into the dirt where Yamamoto and Gokudera were standing.

She watched as Yamamoto took out the first man, to back the other guy into Gokudera's line of fire. She allowed her a grim smile. _At least they can fight together okay. But Gokudera's grudges and contempt for Yamamoto will stand in the way._

As the second man fell, Gokudera remarked, "The way I trained against the Varia was stupid."

"I won't lose if we have both our rings."

"Hey, that was a bit of combination play," Yamamoto said optimistically.

Gokudera shot a glare at him, "Don't butt in."

Liza exhaled slowly. _This is not going to be good._ "Uh, guys..." she started.

A new voice cut in, "I heard that Vongola's guardians wet themselves and scattered." Liza looked up and saw a man wearing a black jacket, with white shoulder pads (don't know what to name those things). _Gamma the Lightning._ He was hovering in the air, crackling electricity under his feet. "Yet here you are. How adorable."

_This guy's arrogant._ Liza glanced at her two partners.

"You must be the Guardians of Rain and Storm. However, the two of you look a bit younger than your photos," Gamma noticed. "No, a bit too young."

Liza pressed herself against the tree.

"Did the Vongola drink the water of rejuvenation or something? Oh well, but if I fight with you, it'd be more of a spanking than a fight," the man smirked. "It wouldn't be too adult of me to fight with you kids."

"I'll knock you down a peg," Gokudera snarled. He glared at Yamamoto, "Don't you interfere."

Liza narrowed her eyes at his arrogance. _This is Gamma the Lightning. The Funeral Wreath of Lightning. He should be strong. Byakuran-sama said his Funeral Wreaths of his time, which is now, are undefeatable. Gokudera would not be able to defeat him._

She watched as the bombs Gokudera somehow managed to place around blew up. The Gamma person jumped back from the explosion gracefully.

_That's expected._

As she watched, she felt Yamamoto shift closer. She looked at him questioningly. He murmured from the corner of his mouth, "Gokudera's going to be able to do this, right?"

Liza shook her head, "Don't be delusional. That guy's a Captain. He must be strong."

"So, Gokudera has do chance?"

"Nope. Especially since that guy's had ten years of an advantage."

A loud crackling noise interrupted them. Gamma the Lightning had pool balls around him, surrounded by bolts of lightning. He was aiming one at Gokudera, whose eyes were wide.

As the billiard balls were hit one by one and shot down around the bomber, Liza's eyes were wide and she shouted, "No!"

Gamma's eyes narrowed and he turned to stare at the trees, but only Yamamoto was visible. The billiard balls shot out a bolt of lightning, which immediately electrocuted Gokudera. He yelled out in pain.

_This is bad! This is REALLY bad! _Liza thought frantically.

Yamamoto drew his sword, "I'll go in, but Liza, don't fight unless you have too."

She sweatdropped, _Boys._ "Be careful," she whispered.

He nodded and stepped out into the clearing. Liza tensed suddenly, and jumped away from the tree in time to see Gamma's billiard balls slam into the tree and turn it into dust. If she hadn't moved, she would've been fried. Gamma raised an eyebrow, "No point in hiding, little girl."

She glared at him, but stayed there like Yamamoto had requested.

As she witnessed him rush at Gamma with his sword, she facepalmed. "Dude!" she yelled. "You're gonna be fried if you go at him with your sword! Metal conducts electricity!"

Yamamoto paused, but it was too late. Liza flinched, but as she closed her eyes, she saw Gokudera spring forward and slam into Yamamoto. She let out a breath. _That idiot!_

She watched with a small smile as they finally started to work together, but a pang of guilt burrowed into her. _I should help. But they said no. I'll wait. If both of them get defeated, I'll try to fight._

Yamamoto rushed towards Gamma's foxes. "Charge in, Yamamoto!"

Liza shut her eyes, she did not want to see her fellow companion getting turned into roast meat.

However, when she opened her eyes, she saw Gokudera blasting away Gamma's flames, and Yamamoto sending a lash towards the now flameless Gamma. She smiled, then frowned. _A Funeral Wreath shouldn't be that easy to defeat._

As Yamamoto and Gokudera were talking, she unwrapped her ring. _Something's going to happen._

Suddenly, a blast of electricity electrocuted Yamamoto, who let out a yell of shock and pain. Gokudera froze, eyes wide. Gamma stood there, unharmed, cradling his two foxes.

"Now, I have a few questions," the man said, smirking. "When did the Vongola Tenth come back to life?"

As the two fought, Liza opened her box weapon. Liberty flew out, perched onto her shoulder. "I should help."

Gokudera cried out in pain, as Gamma slammed his foot onto his hand, crushing the fingers underneath. "I recall the rings you are wearing."

Liza grasped the hilt of her guns, and ignited her ring. But before she could speak, Yamamoto ran forward to slam the bamboo blade against Gamma's billiard stick.

"I only need one of you to answer," he seemed to be speaking to Liza as well. "You're only in the way."

She tightened her grip, and bared her teeth. The two foxes zoned in on Yamamoto, who froze in panic. A blast of lightning blinded Liza, and Yamamoto's yells were drowned out by her own frantic screams of despair for her comrades.

She knelt down, creating a small dome shaped shield of Mist flames, protecting herself from the electricity. As the light faded, she saw Yamamoto unconscious on the grass. Gamma turned back to Gokudera, who let out another scream of pain as the blond haired man ground his foot into his hand.

Suddenly, Gamma leaped out of the way, dodging a dark blue bullet. Gokudera gently cradled his broken hand to his chest, sending a grateful glance at Liza, who nodded. "It's not honourable to kick an opponent when they are down," she remarked.

Gamma blinked, and smirked, "Ah, you must be Elizabeth Lovion, the infamous Mist wielder of the outside adviser team. But also, you look too young."

"That ain't your business," she snarled.

"You are a mere girl. It would be ungentlemanly of me to fight you," he said.

She bristled and aimed both guns at him. She stared at his eyes, "If you want to hurt my friends, I will destroy you, no matter what it takes, even my life."

He smirked wider, "Large words for a small girl."

She narrowed her eyes and concentrated. Her ring flared up, illuminating her face. Gamma's eyes became slits, "Mist illusionist? It is rumoured that Elizabeth Lovion is also an illusionist, along with a fighter."

The forest vanished, and Liza was hidden from Gamma's view with a scatter of obstacles. Gamma's eyes darted around, detecting any movement. He whirled around as he saw Liza hover in the air. Then another Liza floated into the air. "This won't trick me."

Liza panted slightly, and she focused on turning herself invisible, and keeping the illusions of herself in sync. Behind one of her illusions, she pulled her trigger, and willed the other illusion to also fire.

He blocked both with his billiard balls.

Letting out a gasp, she released her illusionary selves, sweat beading her forehead from the exertion.

Gamma laughed and aimed his billiard balls at her, "It's over, little girl."

BAM!

The illusion shattered, and the two of them turned to see a figure in a black suit.

Hibari Kyoya.

**A/N So, what do you think? Good? Well, this one doesn't have much. I'm not sure, but I might go directly to the fight at Merone Base. **

**Read and review please!**

**Grazie!**


	7. Rescued

**Ciaosu, friends! **

**To Khrforever D:**

**No, Byakuran never showed Liza pictures of the other real Funeral Wreaths, he only told her that they were unbeatable. **

Chapter Seven

Liza didn't know whether to cower in fear from the irritation and anger that radiated from Hibari, or to cry out in thanks for showing up in time.

The good thing was that Hibari grabbed hold of Gamma's attention. Liza dropped onto the ground, and ran towards Gokudera and Yamamoto.

She gently hoisted Gokudera up, gently wrapping his hand with her jacket. He hissed quietly in pain, wincing. "Sorry, Gokudera-kun," she whispered, "just don't put any pressure on this hand, okay?" He nodded slightly, and the girl left his side to go tend to Yamamoto.

Looking up at the sky, she saw Gamma... and she winced. _Ouch, that _must _have hurt._ He was speared on Hibari's box weapon, spikes poking through his shoulder and gut.

The future Hibari agilely jumped from spike to spike, getting close enough to deliver the final blow which sent Gamma flying backwards. _Ow! _Liza cringed, imagining the pain the Funeral Wreath should be in. She suddenly frowned. _Wait, Byakuran said that his Funeral Wreaths of this time were undefeatable, and the best. How could Hibari Kyoya defeat Gamma so easily? Unless, Gamma was a fake Funeral Wreath? Byakuran-sama did mention something about fake Funeral Wreaths to deceive the enemy._

Hibari drifted gently to the ground. He looked at her, and then at the two fallen Guardians. He stood before the limp form of Gamma, and said, "I don't need a Thunder Attribute ring." Then he looked over at two newcomers. Liza's eyes widened at the sight of Tsuna and Lal Mirch. "What took you, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Hibari said.

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna exclaimed, looking half-grateful, half-fearful. "Um," he looked around confusedly.

"Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato are in the woods. Elizabeth Lovion is with them," he replied nonchalantly.

Tsuna nodded and immediately took off towards the woods. He burst through into the clearing. "Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto!" he shouted, eyes wide with concern. "Liza-san?"

Liza smiled at him warily, "They'll be okay."

Next to her was a strange man, who looked up, "Their lives are not in danger, but they need immediate medical attention."

"You were the Vice-Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Kusakabe Tetsuya, I'm Hibari's subordinate," the man replied. "And for these two boys, we'll need to get them to the hideout. Let's carry them there."

He slung Yamamoto's arm around his shoulder and hoisted him up. Liza copied him, slightly staggering under Gokudera. Tsuna looked over at a small chirping sound, "What's that?" And saw Hibari's bird landing on his shoulder. The future Hibari walked through an entrance, and disappeared.

Liza gaped, wide eyed. "He disappeared!"

Kusakabe gently slid the Vongola rings off of Yamamoto and Gokudera's hands. "Can I get you ring? So it doesn't give away our location," the man explained to Liza's startled look. Liza complied, sliding off her ring to hand to him. He walked over to Lal Mirch and handing them to her, saying something that Liza could not hear. Lal Mirch nodded and took off. Liza stumbled towards the place where Hibari disappeared.

"Liza-san, let me help you," Tsuna reached out to give her a hand. Liza smiled gratefully.

In the hideout, Tsuna and Liza carried Gokudera, while Kusakabe carried Yamamoto. "What is this place?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"One of our research facilities in Japan," the tall man replied. "But we do a lot of other things as well. Look."

Ahead, a metal door slid open, to reveal Reborn. "Ciaossu."

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed. "Why is Reborn here?"

"Your hideout and our facility are connected. But we've never opened it to maintain secrecy," Kusakabe explained.

"It's a system that suits Hibari well," Reborn said, with a slight smile.

After they set Gokudera and Yamamoto onto the beds in the infirmary, Liza asked Tsuna quietly, "Where's Kyoko-chan?"

"Oh, Lal's gone to get her. We found her at her friend, Hana's house."

Liza nodded, and sat silently at Gokudera's side, brows furrowed. "How's Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked the hitman.

Reborn replied, "He's doing better. And you did well, Tsuna."

"What's good about this?" Tsuna spluttered.

"This was good for our experience," Reborn reasoned. "Through each battle, we grow stronger and closer to our goal to defeat the Millefiore. Something good should come through from this battle."

Tsuna gaped, "But almost everyone's hurt!"

"Tenth," came a weak voice from Liza's side, which made her jump. Gokudera's green eyes were trained on Tsuna. "I'm sorry."

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna rushed over, smiling.

"I'm sorry, Tenth," the bomber apologized again. Tsuna's smile fell. "It's all my fault."

Liza was silent. "I-I've been really, really scared since we came to this world. Then I tried acting tough, and fought Yamamoto, tried to act as though Liza wasn't as good as us, and then this happened," Gokudera's eyes were filled with shame, and a broken pride.

"Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said, eyes soft.

"Yamamoto said the same thing as you did," Reborn remarked. Gokudera looked at the baby, eyes questioning. "He said, "I said a lot of things to Gokudera that I shouldn't have. I'll have to apologize to him later."

Gokudera shifted up, "That means Yamamoto is..."

"Alive, and he's doing well," Reborn said.

Gokudera laid back, and scrunched up his face. "So he's alive!" Tsuna smiled softly, then his smile faded.

Liza sat there, silent as a ghost. Gokudera asked suddenly, "How's Liza?"

"She's right behind you," Reborn said.

Liza smiled softly, "I'm fine. Thanks to Hibari-san."

The four of them lapsed into a silence again. Liza's eyes were dark, as she contemplated the Funeral Wreaths. _I wonder what the other five real Funeral Wreaths look like. Are they nice?_

"Of course," Reborn said suddenly. Liza looked up, startled. Did he read her mind? She started to silently freak out. "Yamamoto, Gokudera and Kyoko are still kids."

Tsuna glowered, "Stop reading my mind, Reborn!"

Liza calmed down slightly. Though Reborn took no notice of Tsuna's outburst. "You all are inexperienced, and let blood get to your head, making fatal mistakes."

Tsuna sagged, "D-did you really have to go that far?"

"All you can do right now, is to try to avoid dying," Reborn said bluntly. "Your greatest weapon is to make these painful mistakes, not die, and grow immensely from them."

Tsuna gaped, and the door suddenly slid open, cutting him off. "Hey," the future Hibari, (who is really hot!), said, "Are you done? I need to talk to you."

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna exclaimed.

Gokudera shot up, "Hibari! Why are you here?" Then he let out a pained cry, and flopped back down onto the bed.

"Gokudera-kun, Hibari-san saved all three of you," Tsuna explained.

Gokudera looked at Hibari, surprised. Hibari narrowed his eyes, "I didn't set out to save you." Liza facepalmed, _Wow._ Hibari continued, "I just didn't like that guy."

"I wanted to see you, Hibari," Reborn said, looking up at the man.

He looked down, and with a slightly less harsh frown on his face he said, "Same here, Infant."

Liza smiled, and stood up, "I'll be leaving. I want to see Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan." She walked out of the door.

But before she could leave completely, Hibari said, "Elizabeth. I also want to talk to you after Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Liza looked over her shoulder, and nodded, "Okay. I'll be in the kitchen."

She walked out, and avoided crashing into Giannini, who apologized. Liza walked through the halls, looking down at the floor.

And BAM! She slammed into a turning figure at an intersection of the halls. Liza looked up to see a tall, pretty woman with strawberry red hair and green eyes, just like Gokudera-kun's. "B-Bianchi?"

"Ah, Liza-chan," Bianchi smiled. "Nice to see you again."

Liza grinned happily, and looked to the side, seeing an unfamiliar man. "Hi, who are you?"

"You don't recognize me, Liza-nee-san?" the man said.

The girl cocked her head to the side, and her eyes grew wide. "Fuuta!"

"That's me!" he grinned.

"Where are you guys going?" Liza asked.

"We're going to see Hibari. We just came back from a mission, and have new information," Bianchi explained.

"Oh, okay! That's why Giannini was there!" Liza nodded, "Okay, well, see you then!"

In the kitchen, Liza picked up I-pin, who was running around after Lambo. "Hey, I-pin!"

"Liza-onee-chan!" I-pin chirped happily.

"Liza-chan!" Haru waved.

"Hey, is Kyoko-chan- Kyoko-chan!" Liza hugged Ryohei's younger sister. "You had us all worried! Are you safe okay? You didn't get hurt?"

Kyoko smiled sweetly, "I'm fine. Tsuna-kun and Lal Mirch came to get me."

"Good," Liza gently ruffled her hair.

The door slid open, and Hibari walked in. "Elizabeth."

"Hibari-san," Liza inclined her head politely.

"I will be training Sawada Tsunayoshi, and I wish for you to be there as well," Hibari said shortly. "I will be at the training room tomorrow at noon. Do not be late."

Liza nodded, trying to smile, but failing. "O-okay, Hibari-san." Once he left, and the door slid shut, Liza let out a breath. _He's still terrifying._

**A/N How do you think? **

**Read and review please!**

**Grazie mille!**


	8. Illusionary

**A/N Hello! Please read and review!**

**To Khrforever D:**

**You'll find out where Liza goes! :) Teehee.**

**Enjoy, my dear readers!:)**

Chapter Eight

Liza panted heavily, tightly gripping her guns. Sweat ran down her neck, soaking her shirt. Hibari stood before her, indifferent. "Stand up, and fight."

She clenched her jaw and pushed herself up. _I can do this. For the past, and for Byakuran-sama. I trust him. He needs me to do this. _She stood up straight and lit her ring. _I got this._

* * *

After training, Liza collapsed onto her bed, relaxing her sore and abused muscles. _Holy crap, Hibari is a devil._ She exhaled, and stumbled to her feet, staggering her way to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, she devoured the meal Haru and Kyoko-chan made for her. "Arigatou, Haru, Kyoko-chan," Liza smiled gratefully.

"No problems, Liza-chan. You've been training very hard!" Haru said.

Suddenly, Tsuna burst through the door, "Liza! Liza, you need to come! Hurry!" And he frantically waved for her to follow him as he ran through the halls. She ran after him, trying not to slam into the walls. "What happened?" she panted.

"Chrome! Something happened to Mukuro, and Chrome's organs are disappearing! We need your illusions!" Tsuna shouted.

Liza's eyes widened, and she quickened her pace. Slamming the door open, they ran in. Liza stood at Chrome's side, eyes wide. _Should I do this? Or should I not? But Chrome's life is in danger. Byakuran-sama wouldn't want me to help the enemy, but they're not bad people! _Liza worried her lip, her mind in turmoil. _I-I can give it a try, I mean..._

She stood there, and lit her ring. "I'll try this, but I'm not as good as Mukuro. Obviously."

Closing her eyes, she clenched her fists and created the illusion. Slowly, Chrome's stomach started to level with the rest of her body, as the illusion slowly took place. Tsuna grinned, "Amazing, Liza-san!"

_I got this. I'm a Funeral Wreath. If Rokudo Mukuro was able to do this, I should too,_ Liza thought with determination. "I-I think I got it, but, I might not be able to hold it for too long," she admitted.

"You don't need too," came Hibari's indifferent voice from behind Tsuna. "Move. You're in the way."

Tsuna jumped out of the way instantly, bowing his head. Hibari stood at Chrome's other side, lifting her up gently. "Leave, all of you, except Elizabeth Lovion."

Tsuna glanced at Liza, and nodded, not wanting to upset the dangerous man.

Liza looked at Hibari after everyone else evacuated the room. "What are you going to do? You're not an illusionist."

He ignored her question, and looked down to Chrome, who was gazing up at him weakly. "Do you know why Rokudo Mukuro gave you the Vongola Ring?" He paused. "It only takes a small bit of energy from this ring for you to support yourself. You can do it."

Liza watched, fascinated as Chrome's ring lit up. The blonde girl looked to Hibari, "Should I release my illusion?"

The man nodded, and Liza cautiously let go of her illusion. She sighed with relief as Chrome's stomach did not collapse. "Wow, I guess this is better, for her to be dependent on herself."

He nodded slightly, and set Chrome onto the bed.

Liza took his silence as an okay to leave. She slid the door open, and with one last glance at the unconscious form of Chrome, she left the room.

In the bathroom of her room, Liza retrieved her Mare ring. _This upcoming battle, what will it be like? This coming weeks, what will it be like? What will I do? _

Suddenly, her Mare ring lit up, and a projection shot of the gem. Liza bowed at the hologram of Byakuran. "Byakuran-sama."

"Li-chan, how are you?"

"Fine," Liza said, smiling softly. "I-I have a question, Byakuran-sama."

"Yes?"

"Who are the fake Funeral Wreaths? Gamma cannot be one, since he was defeated so easily by Hibari-san," Liza asked urgently.

Byakuran smiled, "You will be able to tell, Li-chan. I know you will. You will feel the bond between the two Mare rings."

Liza smiled shyly, "B-byakuran-sama, wh-what do you need to know?"

"What is Vongola the Tenth and his guardians doing? Where is the Vongola hideout?"

"For now, all we are doing is training, but it's not going too well. And," Liza swallowed, "I don't know where the hideout is. I know it is in Namimori, but that's it."

Byakuran cocked his head to the side, "Really? I thought you were in the hideout."

"But the hideout, it's underground," Liza confessed. _I can't tell him everything. I can't expose Haru, Kyoko-chan, I-pin, Chrome and Lambo to such ruthless danger!_

"Li-chan, do you know why," Byakuran started, "that I chose you of all people to become a Funeral Wreath?"

Liza shook her head slowly, "No, why, Byakuran-sama?"

"Because when I travelled to a particular parallel world," he smiled widely, "you were a world dictator. You ruled the world with fear and tyranny. In that world, you would smile cruelly at another's pain. You believed in absolute and undying loyalty. Or else you would destroy them."

Liza's eyes were wide, and her mouth open. "I would? I-I..."

"When I met you, I realized that you and the other you were the not same. You have too much compassion and kindness. And I liked that part of you. It makes you so endearing," Byakuran smiled.

Liza blushed, "G-grazie, Byakuran-sama."

"Yo, Liza, where are you?" the voice of Yamamoto drifted through the walls.

Liza spun around, and shut off her ring. "I'm here! Sorry!" Liza shouted. She slipped the ring onto the chain and under her shirt, and rushed out of her room and into the hall. "Yamamoto?"

"Come on, we're having a meeting," Yamamoto gestured, and started to run towards the conference room.

Liza followed him through the twists and turns. At the conference room, she smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."

"We cannot afford to waste time," Lal Mirch snarled. "We are on a limited schedule."

Liza nodded seriously. Kusakabe cleared his throat, "As I said, Chrome is stable, for now. She has created her own illusions for her organs. However, her illusions are not complete, and she is in a very critical condition."

Liza frowned, "I could try to stablize her organs."

"Hibari-san said that she must learn to support herself. Even Mukuro's support deemed to be inconsistent," Kusakabe replied.

Liza nodded, and accepted the fact.

"Th-then, what happened to Mukuro?" Tsuna asked. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know," Ryohei said seriously. "Even the orders that were give to the Varia were one-sided. All I did was give the orders to you."

"Then we must think of the worst-case scenario," Bianchi said sadly.

Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto gaped. "Mukuro can't have-" Tsuna broke off, wide eyed.

Liza clenched her fists, and looked down. _How can that be? Rokudo Mukuro, who went through the six paths of hell could not defeat Byakuran-sama? _"It's okay, Tsuna. It's Mukuro we're talking about."

"Yeah, he's the one who went through the six paths of hell, and defeated Mammon!" Gokudera reasoned eagerly.

Tsuna nodded, "I guess."

"However, no matter how we look at this situation, there is no way Chrome will be ready for the battle in five days," Reborn piped up from his position on Bianchi's lap.

Liza looked up, "I could be a replacement for Chrome."

"Oh, well, I guessed that you would be going no matter what," Ryohei said, looking at the girl.

"True, but-"

"You can go, Lovion, and I'll go as well as the replacement," Lal said, standing up.

"How could we make you do that?" Reborn said.

Lal stared at the baby, "What?"

"You have problems sitting, Lal," Reborn said. "Liza will be a good enough replacement."

"What are you saying?" Lal denied.

"One look at you, we can all tell that you are having problems with your body. Its in tatters from the Non-Trinisette Policy's exposure," Reborn continued. "Isn't it?"

Lal slammed her hands down on the table, shaking with anger. "Shut up!" she shouted angrily. "What does a person from the past know about this?"

Reborn looked at her. "I have felt the radiation since I've gotten here. It's not only you."

Lal glared, "However, the people behind this policy is the Millefiore! I know that! This world will never be like the one you know ten years ago if we don't defeat them!"

Giannini timidly spoke up, saying something about how it wasn't confirmed and such, but Lal refused to listen. "No! It is them! Th-they... Colonello, Skull, Viper, th-they were all killed by them!" she shouted. Suddenly, from the exertion, Lal collapsed onto the floor, shaking.

Bianchi and Giannini immediately rushed to her side. "We need to get her to the medical room immediately!" Bianchi said.

"No! Don't touch me, I can get up by myself!" Lal weakly shook Bianchi off.

"Please listen to us," Bianchi begged. "You need to get treated properly."

"Sawada," the future Ryohei said quietly.

Tsuna turned around. Liza narrowed her eyes. "I'll be telling Hibari that we will not carry out the operation, due to the bad situation our forces are in."

Liza sighed inwardly. _Byakuran-sama..._

"Let's do it," Tsuna suddenly said, stopping Ryohei. "It might be more sensible for us to do it later, but if we go in five days, we'll be able to get a lead on getting back to the future faster, finding out about Mukuro, and about the Non Trinisette."

_So you guys are going to be going. Unfortunate, _Liza thought, _so unfortunate. If only I didn't hear that. If only. _

"Come on, we only have five days left. We have to try our best," Tsuna said, eyes orange, an orange flame at his forehead.

_I won't disappoint you, Byakuran-sama._

**So that's why Byakuran chose her to be a Funeral Wreath. Is Liza really different from her parallel world self? Who knows!**

**Read and review! **

**Grazie mille!**


	9. Indecision

**A/N Sorry for not updating for a bit longer than usual, and this one's a bit short, sorry. I had a writers' block.**

**Oh yeah, and for the rings projecting an image of Byakuran, I kinda just made that up, so Liza could somehow contact her Sky. So it could be a link between each guardian to their Sky. **

**Please enjoy.**

**Read and review!**

Chapter Nine

"So, Li-chan, anything to say?" Byakuran's hologram asked, smiling like always.

Liza nodded seriously, "Five days, Byakuran-sama. Five days till we attack Merone Base, where Irie Shoichi is."

Byakuran raised an eyebrow, "So soon? And just them?"

"They are training as hard as ever. They have a lot of resolve and determination," Liza reported.

"What caused this change, Li-chan?"

Liza blinked. "What?"

"You are very straight forward now. Ever since I told you why I chose you," Byakuran said, cocking his head to the side.

"I-I," she blushed, "Well, I didn't want you to regret choosing me as a Funeral Wreath, Byakuran-sama."

"Good, then I know I will never regret that choice," he smiled at her. "And I must tell you something."

Liza looked at him attentively. "Yes?"

"Even if Sho-kun is able to defeat Tsunayoshi-kun, you must not reveal yourself unless given the right signal from me," Byakuran said seriously.

Liza blinked, "Should I not trust Irie Shoichi?"

"I have my doubts about him, but we shall see, shall we?"

"Yes, sir," Liza said.

"Good girl. Now, goodbye, and until next time!" and the hologram shut off.

* * *

Liza faced Hibari, filled with an unknown determination to beat him. _Why am I feeling so angry? So frustrated, and so..._

"Focus."

Liza narrowed her eyes, and readied her guns. Hibari lunged forward, and she met him at the halfway point to deflect his tonfas with her guns, dodging attacks and throwing in some of her own attacks. _I have to do this. Byakuran-sama..._

She narrowly dodged the head of Hibari's Cloud flame infused tonfa, to get slugged by his other tonfa. As she went flying sideways, she flipped backwards, and landed on her feet, skidding back. _Why can't I do this? _She let out an angry snarl and flew at Hibari, firing continuously.

"Use your illusions!" Hibari snarled.

Liza glowered, and the entire room changed. "Morbid, Elizabeth Lovion. Why so morbid?" Hibari taunted.

The room was a cold dark night, cemetery stones sticking out of the ground. Blood had stained the earth, and wolves flanked her sides. "Destruction and death, Hibari Kyoya. Destruction and death is true beauty."

Hibari stared at her, "What changed?"

Liza levelled him a look. "What do you mean?"

"What changed? You seem so much more angry and frustrated. You seem to be pressured," Hibari commented.

Liza clenched her fists. "I am fine."

"You seem to be conflicted about something," Hibari said, straightening.

Liza growled and fire her gun, aiming for the spot beside Hibari's ear. "Fight me."

* * *

_Why can't I decide? What the hell is wrong with me? I love you so much, Byakuran-sama, and I want to help you with your goal, but what is your goal? I love you, but I doubt you. You never told me anything except what the Mare ring is, and what I am supposed to do. How am I supposed to blindly trust you? _Liza thought, mind in an inner turmoil.

"Liza-san, are you okay?"

Liza blinked. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Tsuna was looking at her anxiously. "Dinner's starting."

_Oh, yeah, the party that's supposed to lift everyone's spirits. _Liza smiled, "Okay. Let's go then."

Liza carried her plate of food in one hand, and her drink in another. She sat down next to Kyoko-chan, "Hey."

"Liza-chan! Hello, how's your training?" Kyoko chirped brightly.

Liza couldn't help but smile just as brightly, "It was fine." She focused on eating for a while, keeping silent during Kyoko, Haru and Bianchi's conversation.

Suddenly, Liza said softly, "Kyoko-chan, Haru, Bianchi-nee, if you loved someone with all your heart, but you didn't know what they were planning and they asked you to blindly trust them, would you trust them?"

"Of course! If you love them a lot, of course you should trust them!" Haru exclaimed.

Liza frowned, "But what if the current actions of the person you love is questionable in its morality?"

Bianchi said quietly, "If you question the morality of the actions of the person you love, do not blindly trust them. You should ask them why they are doing what they are doing. It doesn't hurt to ask."

Liza was silent as she digested those words. Then she smiled, "Thank you, Bianchi-nee. I needed that."

Bianchi nodded as she gazed with concern at Liza. "Are you okay?"

"Well," Liza cracked a small smile. "Just nervous for tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, tomorrow's some big day for you guys right? Sumo wrestling?" Kyoko said, quoting her brother.

Liza resisted the urge to facepalm, and instead smiled, "Yeah, sumo wrestling." _Sasagawa-senpai needs to work on his lying skills. I can't believe he's still using sumo wrestling as an excuse after all these years._

* * *

"Come on," Lal urged them to hurry as she pulled herself forward.

Liza ignored the aching in her arms and continued to pull herself forward, carefully avoiding Yamamoto's feet in front of her. _I will find my answers, Byakuran-sama. There will no more hiding._

Suddenly, Yamamoto stopped, and Liza pulled herself right into his feet. She yelped quite loudly, resulting in a punch to her foot by Gokudera, who reminded her to be quiet. "Shut up!"

"Okay," she whispered. "Geez, dude."

Liza carefully listened to Lal, who explained the sensors, and the device that Giannini created. "One, two, three, go!" the five of them crawled as fast as they could across the temporarily safe area. Ryohei managed to make it just on time, the infrared sensors nearly catching his foot.

"Sasagawa, did your foot get caught by the sensors?" Lal barked.

"No!" Ryohei confirmed. "Nearly, but no."

"Then why is the lasers on?" Lal frantically wrung her hands.

The lasers in front of them went off, blinding them with green white light. Liza cringed, awaiting the pain…

… then she let out a loud "oomph!" Ouch, her ribs really hurt, as did her chin.

"Fuck, this hurts. Uh, Liza-san, get off of me," Gokudera groaned, as he nudged her. Liza scrambled off of him, blushing and apologizing profusely.

"If we didn't set off the sensors, why did the lasers go off?" Lal wondered, suddenly frowning. "It can't be that, they know, can it?"

Liza grimaced, _Already? Should I be happy or disappointed by the fact that they've already found us?_

"Haha," a man's voice boomed. "I thought it was just some rodents, but apparently it's just some ordinary kids!"

_Or maybe they didn't find us. _Liza turned to look at the largest man she had ever seen, including people in America. The man was huge, like an experiment gone wrong with steroids.

"Wait, he thinks we're ordinary kids?" Gokudera muttered lowly.

"Gullible idiot," Liza murmured.

"Quiet, we want to keep an innocent appearance for now," Lal shushed them. Liza narrowed her eyes at the man. _This must be one of the weaker officials of the Millefiore. Byakuran-sama must not be relying on such a stupid man._

She looked on with contempt for the large man as Tsuna easily beat him. _Useless, _she thought savagely. _The weak have no place in the world of the mafia._

"Come on, let's get going," Lal took off running, and the rest of them followed.

**A/N Hope you enjoyed this! And I'll try to post another chapter by the end of today, but no guarantees. In the next chapter, it'll be Lal vs. Ginger Bread. Or maybe I'll skip that. Dunno, but please tell me whether I should skip it or not. **

**Please read and review!**


	10. Decoy

**A/N Okay, so this is after Ginger Bread vs Lal. And I'm sorry for this chapter's shortness, but the next one will be longer. I hope.**

**So, enjoy!**

**Please read and review!**

Chapter Ten

"I can be the decoy in Lal's place," Liza volunteered. "I don't have a Vongola ring, so it'd be fine if they capture me."

Tsuna immediately protested, "No, Liza-san, it'd be better if I go. The decoy's supposed to be very agile in the air, and I'd be the best candidate for that."

"Then I'll go with you, if worst comes to worst, I can distract the enemy so you can get away," Liza said, smiling softly.

"L-Liza-san, I can't ask you to do that," Tsuna shook his head.

Liza shrugged, "You're the boss. It's my duty to do that, and I'd be a better distraction than your guardians because I do not have a Vongola ring." _I have a Mare ring, but you don't need to know that._

Tsuna looked reluctant, but then Ryohei spoke, "That's very reasonable, and a good plan. Sawada and Liza, you two will be the decoy."

Liza nodded, "Roger."

Tsuna fidgeted for a second, and then nodded slowly. Liza grinned, "Let's go, boss."

"You've never called me that before," Tsuna's eyes were wide. Liza smirked and then took off, towards the place where they would be meeting the enemy.

* * *

"Strau Moscas," Tsuna said quietly. "I'll do the frontal attacks, Liza, and you will use your illusions to distract them. If necessary, use your guns."

Liza nodded, "Roger that, boss."

Liza watched as Tsuna flew through the horde of Moscas, taking out one of them with a good, solid punch. _Wow, I do not want to get on his bad side._

Her focus then was diverted onto two other Moscas flying towards her. Seeing that Tsuna was trying to escape a group of zoning-in missiles, she took out her guns, and aimed for the Mosca's eyes. _It wouldn't do any good to shoot them, since Lal said that their armor is reinforced so that physical/Flame attacks won't do any good. I wonder if their eyes are their weak spots._

Unsurprisingly, and to her dismay, the bullet did not shatter it's eyes. Instead, it bounced off. _Well, shit._ Loading her gun with her Mist flames, she fired once, releasing the flames. The black eyes of the Mosca shattered, and she took advantage of it, firing repeatedly into the chink.

Warping the space, she focused on her illusions, drawing the Moscas away from her and into the walls. Turning around to look for Tsuna, her eyes widened as the brunette was dragged under the water. "Tsuna!" she shouted, racing over to the edge of the water. _No, no, no, Tsuna! You can't die here!_

She turned to face the remaining Moscas that had reverted their attention to her as her concentration on her illusions faltered. _Frick. More illusions. More illusions._

Suddenly, as her Mist flames engulfed the place, the entire channel seemed to shift, turning in a 90 degree angle. She floated above what seemed to be the water, and as the Moscas rushed at her, she flung herself to the side, and the Moscas crashed into the wall that was hidden behind the illusions.

Glancing at the water, she worried her lip. _Tsuna, please be okay._

Suddenly, the water erupted, and out came Tsuna, forehead blazing with flames. Liza watched wide eyed as Tsuna used Zero Point Breakthrough, freezing the water and the Moscas underneath. _Wow, the true power of Vongola Decimo. _

She silently released her illusions, so that Tsuna would not be hindered by them. He glanced at her, and gave a small nod of thanks.

After being thrown around, Tsuna froze in midair, staring at the incoming King Mosca. Liza shouted at him, "You're going to get hit, boss! Move!"

Instead, her eyes widened as he thrust his left hand behind him, releasing soft flames as a support, and reach out with his right, streams of hard flames shooting out from his palms.

BOOM!

Liza knelt down, protecting her head as the King Mosca was flung to the side. She let out a scream as she saw Tsuna slam into a nearby wall, and fall to the ground unconscious. "Tsuna!" She ran over, sliding an arm under his head. "Tsuna!"

"What an amazing technique," came a voice from behind her. She turned her head so fast that her neck cracked. A man in a green jumper stood there with a lollipop in his mouth. "But I see it's still imperfect."

Letting go of Tsuna, she jumped up, gripping her guns. "Who the fuck are you? What do you want?"

The man lifted his own gun. "My duty assigned to me was to intercept you."

"Well, I'm not handing him over without a fight. You can't defeat me," she snarled.

He didn't even glance at her; his eyes were solely on the unconscious Decimo. "His technique is imperfect," the man repeated.

"Yes! You've said that already," Liza growled.

"So I want to perfect it," the man said simply.

Liza froze, and stared at the man. "But you're Millefiore! And we're Vongola! I am not letting him be your prisoner and test experiment!" She readied her guns.

The man cocked his head, "Then I'll help you. I want to see a perfected technique of his, so in order to do that, I defect."

Liza stared, slack jawed. "Dude, you don't just say that after you attack us!"

"Come on, the cameras are destroyed right now, but we need to move fast just in case they send people over," the man said. Liza gaped, wide eyed. The man reached behind her to carry Tsuna. "Hurry up."

Liza yanked Tsuna away from the man, "How can I trust you?"

"Because if we don't hurry up, Shoichi will send people over, and you can't fight all of them by yourself," the man said shortly. "If you want to carry Vongola, that's fine."

Liza narrowed her eyes, debating what to do. WIth a heavy sigh, she hauled Tsuna up and after the man.

**So, how was it? The next chapter will be about Iris and Ginger Bread vs Tsuna and Liza. **

**Grazie mille! And don't forget to read and review! **


	11. Suspicion

**A/N Sorry, guys, for not updating in so long, but high school is busy! I'll try to update more often, but please bear with me!**

**Read and review!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Eleven

"I'll cover Spanner," Liza said to Tsuna, who nodded briefly. He turned to face the woman who was floating above the monsters. _Slut, _Liza thought disgustedly. _Byakuran-sama, why would you choose such a slovenly woman?_

"My servants," the woman commanded. "Destroy the boy, then crush Spanner!"

Spanner sat there, on the ground, eyes wide and fearful. Liza glanced back, "It's fine. Keep on fixing Tsuna's contacts. He's distracting them for you."

Spanner nodded, and opened his laptop, finger flying over the keyboard. Liza stood at the ready, guns in hand, eyes alert. She cringed slightly as she saw Tsuna get flung into the wall. _Oh shit, _she thought, as the monsters turned to her.

"Destroy her if she gets in the way!" the woman cried, smiling. "Destroy them, my servants!"

The room twisted and warped as her illusions took place. "It'd be lovely to destroy me, but first, you'll have to find me," Liza's voice echoed through the room. Illusions of her flashed through the space, and laughter echoed through the room. "Catch me if you can," she laughed, eyes wide and slightly deranged. "Oh, I love to play!" _This is so fun! Destroy them, break them!_

The woman, deemed as Iris, narrowed her eyes. "My servants! Destroy this illusion!"

"Oh, oh, oh!" Liza giggled. "Try, oh try, but fail, you will!" Bullets flew from around the monsters, glowing indigo.

"Ignore them, my servants! They are merely illusions!" Iris shouted, lashing her whip across her servants' shoulders, heads and chests. The creatures roared, muscles elongating and widening. They pawed and clawed at the walls of the illusion, determined to destroy it.

Most bullets exploded into smoke as they hit the monsters, but some sank into the creatures' flesh, Mist flames hardening in their flesh. They roared and screamed as the Mist flames took place, distorting their flesh.

Liza grinned sadistically, "Oh, Iris, look at them! Look at their suffering! Isn't it beautiful?"

Iris's eyes were wide, and she was staring at her screaming servants. "Ignore the flames! They are nothing compared mine!" She started to whip them relentlessly.

Liza laughed, "Useless. They cannot break through my illusion. They are useless!" Turning, she saw Spanner, who was staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"Liza. I've got them." A low, serious voice said. Liza saw Tsuna emerge from the rubble. "Release the illusion. Protect Spanner."

Liza nodded, slightly reluctant. "Roger." She released her illusion, and retreated to Spanner, who returned to his typing.

Reborn's hologram hopped onto her shoulder, "Liza."

Liza froze. _Did I really just think that the creatures' suffering was beautiful? What's wrong with me?_ "Y-yeah?"

"Every living thing can feel. They can feel pain, joy and much more. Don't forget that," the hitman said.

Liza looked down, "What was wrong with me? I'm not usually sadistic."

"There are always things deep down inside people that aren't seen often."

A loud crash interrupted Liza and Reborn's conversation. Ginger Bread drifted in the air, eyes hidden behind his hat. He smiled, "Naive, so very naive."

_Stupid, arrogant bastard, _Liza snarled angrily in her mind. Ginger Bread turned to her, as Iris dealt with Tsuna.

* * *

After shielding Spanner and herself with her Mist flames from Tsuna's powerful and perfected X-burner, Liza stood up shakily. "Tsuna? Are you okay?"

Tsuna got up, and looked with wonder at his gloves. "Yeah, I'm fine. How's Spanner?"

"Spanner's fine. He's not hurt to badly, but I think his leg's broken. I'm sorry, my shield wasn't strong enough," Liza said guiltily, tending to Spanner.

"I'm fine," Spanner brushed her off. "There's a medical aid box in that cabinet."

Liza hurried over to the cabinet, and dug through it, looking for the medical aid box. After finding it, she carefully created a makeshift cast.

"Tsuna? What are we going to do now?" Liza asked, helping Spanner onto his feet.

* * *

(Time skip to after Shoichi explains what happened)

* * *

"Um, Irie-san, wh-where is the bathroom?" Liza stuttered out, heart pounding.

Irie Shoichi turned to her, "Oh, go straight, down the hall, and then on your left is the bathroom."

Hurrying over there, Laura shut the stall, and checked for any cameras or bugs. Breathing in deeply, she ignited the ring. A hologram of Byakuran flickered to life. The white haired man turned to her. "Li-chan? What are you doing?"

"Byakuran-sama!" she fell to her knees. "Byakuran-sama, Irie Shoichi's a traitor! So's Spanner-kun! What do I do, Byakuran-sama?"

Byakuran's face turns dark, "Liza-chan, stay strong. I know about Sho-chan's betrayal, and Spanner's. Fear not, my Funeral Wreaths will overpower them all."

Liza blushed, and lowered her head. "Are you going to reveal the real Funeral Wreaths?"

"Yes, but I will not reveal you. You will be our last card to show," Byakuran said slowly. "You will accompany them to Choice. The only time you will reveal yourself is when the rings are in my hands, or when I tell you to do so," Byakuran commanded, eyes narrowed. "Get back quickly. You must be kept informed on whatever they are doing."

Liza nodded quickly, "Yes, Byakuran-sama! I will be kept informed, and I will tell you when something big is happening." Glancing at him, she said timidly, "Byakuran-sama, what are you going to do?"

Byakuran blinked, and grinned, "Trust me, Li-chan. Everything will go as planned."

_That's not very reassuring, _she deadpanned, but nodded.

Byakuran smiled, and dismissed her.

* * *

Back in the research lab, Liza was startled to see a ten year younger Ryohei. She glanced at Gokudera, "Gokudera-kun, did Sasagawa-senpai also switch?"

"Yes, he did,' Gokudera replied, face softening from the angry scowl.

"And Octopus-head won't tell me what's going on!" Ryohei shouted.

Gokudera scowled, "I said I would tell you later, Turf-top!"

Liza smiled. _Well, at least all of us are here. _"So, why is Irie-san looking so happy?"

Tsuna grinned, "Xanxus and the Varia defeated one of Byakuran's generals! One of the Funeral Wreaths!"

Liza's smile became strained, "Oh, wow, so the Varia defeated them? That's great!"

Irie Shoichi nodded, "Yeah, I was so worried, but the Varia's strong!"

"Irie, could you tell us about Byakuran's power?" Reborn asked quietly, but still heard over the arguments of Ryohei and Gokudera.

Liza focused on the conversation, listening to Irie Shoichi's explanation of Byakuran's power.

"So, in order to gain full power of the Vongola Rings, you need the Arcobaleno Seals," Shoichi finished.

Tsuna frowned, "But, in this time, Reborn's the only Arcobaleno that's alive."

"Yes, you are right," Shoichi said. "And that's why," he paused, and looked around. "You will be returning to the past temporarily to go through the Arcobaleno trials."

Liza's eyes went wide. _Back to the past? What?_ "Back to the past? Temporarily?" she gasped out, dumbstruck.

"Yes," Irie Shoichi looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, but it is necessary for you to return."

_Uh, dude, you just read me wrong, but it's fine! _She nearly facepalmed, but maintained her composure. "I-I understand, but, I…" she trailed off, and sighed, "Okay."

* * *

Back in the past, Liza trudged to her apartment, locking the door and shutting all the windows. She looked around for any babies, bugs or devices that might catch her. Seeing none, she glanced at her Mare ring. She ignited it, hoping to see Byakuran.

Nothing happened. She sighed, disappointed, but not surprised. _Byakuran-sama, why do you expect me to trust you so blindly? Why are you so much more secretive, more foreign? You weren't like this when we first met. Why can't you be the person I thought I knew?_

**So Liza's becoming more and more suspicious of Byakuran's true character! Any criticism? Praise? lol.. :)**

**Grazie mille!**

**Review please!**


	12. Of the Medici

**A/N Okay, I hope this is longer! And, prepare yourselves, my dear readers, for the unexpected has happened. **

**Read and review please!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Twelve

Liza was walking home alone, after she had asked Tsuna to be alone for a while. Nearing her apartment, she froze. Peeking around the corner, she saw a sleek black car in front of the building. Men in black suits were standing around, as if waiting for someone. Liza breathed in deeply, _It's okay, chill, girl. This isn't ten years into the future. Stop being so paranoid._

Walking calmly down the street to her building, she hoped that the men were not waiting for her. Unfortunately, the men stopped her, "Miss, what's your name? Are you Elizabeth Lovion?"

She cursed inwardly, and innocently smiled, "Yes, that's me! Who are you, may I ask?"

"We are of the Medici Family," the young man in a regal black suit said.

She frowned, "Medici? As in Cosimo de Medici of the Italian Renaissance?"

"Yes, the Medici Famiglia, started by Cosimo de Medici. It is the oldest mafia family in the history of the world that is still existing today," he explained.

"And what would you want from me?" she asked cautiously. She felt a bit more relieved when they did not bring up the Vongola.

"After many years of careful consideration, we have decided that you are the one, Miss. Elizabeth," the man said. "The one to lead the Medici Famiglia."

She did a double take, "What?" Her eyes were wide, and disbelieving. "You mean the head? But, but…"

"You have all the gifts. The Medici are unlike the Vongola, the Arcobaleno and the Funeral Wreaths," he explained, ignoring Liza's stiffening. "The Medici have ruled the underworld for many centuries. Each head has a unique flame. Not the sky flame, but an entirely other worldly flame."

Liza blinked in confusion. "Another flame? I thought there were only seven types."

"There are another seven unique flames that only seven people out of this entire universe can receive. The one the boss has is the Cosmic Flame. It is an invisible flame that holds the coldness and the properties of space. The vacuum of space that deprives people of oxygen. The other six flames are the Ultraviolet Flame, the Kelvin Flame, the Dark Flame, the Electromagnetic Flame, the Light Flame, and the Ray Flame."

"Wait, but I'm a Mist user," Liza said, frowning.

"Each Medici Flame user has another flame type to help disguise the Medici Flame. Also, each Medici Flame can only be used by a specific ring." The man looked at her, "May we go into your apartment to explain this all?"

Liza hesitated, but reluctantly agreed after the look that man gave her.

Inside, he introduced himself as Nicolo de Medici. Taking out a briefcase, he typed in a password and it opened with a click. Inside were seven slots for seven rigs, but four was missing. Liza frowned, but Nicolo smiled, his hazel eyes brightening, "I am your Guardian of the Dark Flame."

"What's the Dark Flame?" she asked, curiously, sizing up the young man that was only a few years older than her. He had short tame brown hair, hazel eyes that seemed to be eternally mischievous, and a tan complexion.

"The Dark Flame is a flame that can sort of control dark matter and energy," Nicolo explained, smiling at his new boss. "Dark energy is the invisible particles that are everywhere, and that are pulling everything apart. Dark matter is the invisible particles that pull everything together."

Her eyes widened, "Wow, that's powerful."

"But the boss is the most powerful of us all. You have control over space, Settantesimo," he replied respectfully. At her puzzled look, he explained, "Seventieth." Liza's eyes widened, but she did not say anything.

"What about the other three?" Liza wondered.

Nicolo called out, "Hey, you three, come on out. Boss wants to meet you guys."

Three young men in suits walked out. The taller one with dark blond hair and piercing green eyes framed with dark eyelashes bowed, "Antonio de Medici, of the Ultraviolet Flame."

Dark, cold eyes stared into her, face hard and unfriendly, "Luciano de Medici, of the Ray Flame."

"What does the Ray Flame do?" Liza asked, looking to Nicolo.

"Cosmic Ray," Luciano said monotonously, "is high energy radiation that can only be used in space-like conditions, therefore, a hard vacuum."

Liza nodded, shying away from him. She looked to the remaining person. He was a brunet, with violet eyes that were warm. He smiled, "Matteo de Medici, of the Light Flame. Light Flame users are able to bend and control photons, but we cannot move at the speed of light, unfortunately."

Liza blinked, and swallowed, "So, what does the Medici do? I haven't heard of the Medici Famiglia before today."

"The Medici Famiglia rules the underworld," Matteo explained. "But not many have heard of us. We have agents in all of the mafia families, and they send in information. Most of the time, we do not take much action, for our boss has a gift. A gift to see beyond and around."

"Beyond and around?" Liza was seriously confused now. "What do you mean?"

"The Mare Sky bearer can see around, into parallel worlds, the Vongola Sky bearer can see beyond into the future and the past. The Medici Cosmic bearer can see both beyond and around. That is why we do not take action, unless our boss's insights tell us to do so."

Liza stared, slack jawed, "I can see into the future? But, wouldn't that mean that I have the power to change the future?"

Nicolo stared at her, "As the Elite Seven of the Medici, we have the responsibility to see that the future you see will unravel the way it is supposed to unravel. If any of the Elite Seven try to change the future, the other six hold the responsibility to eliminate that threat."

Liza's eyes widened, and she nodded, gulping at his firm and unforgiving tone. "So what if the events do not go as I see it?"

"That happens occasionally," Antonio said, frowning. "Most of the time, it doesn't happen, because no one knows what happens in the future other ourselves, but if time travel is involved, then yes, the timeline will change. Parallel world travelling could also change the timeline. Then you will see another future." He paused, and glanced at Matteo and Nicolo, "And then what?"

"And then," Matteo leveled Liza with a look. "You have to pull the future back to what it originally was."

Liza withered, "That's a large burden." _Why now? And why me? I have enough problems with Byakuran-sama… my God._ "How do I look into the future?"

Luciano narrowed his eyes, "Before the previous Medici boss died, he had said something of a man named Byakuran, and his interference with the timeline. It was recorded that this man, Byakuran, would join the Trinisette, and destroy the world with it. Do you know anything of him and his interference?"

Liza froze, and the other three men turned to look at her expectantly. _Destroy the world? Byakuran-sama, what have you not been telling me? Why are you hiding this from me? Why have you changed so? What do I not know about you?_ She swallowed, and slumped forward, "Before today, I was in the future. Ten years into the future, using the ten year bazooka of the Bovino Family. I was helping the Vongola fight the Millefiore, which was a combination of the Giglio Nero and the Gesso, ruled by Byakuran." Hesitantly, and reluctantly, she pulled out the chain that rested under her shirt. The indigo Mare Mist ring glittered. "But I've been helping Byakuran all this time. I am the real Funeral Wreath of the Mist." Nicolo, Matteo and Antonio were gaping, shocked beyond comprehension. "He came to me a few months ago, and was my guardian as I adjusted to life without my father. Then he gave me this ring, and told me what to do."

Luciano growled, "You've been screwing with the timeline since five months ago?"

"Calm down, Luciano," Nicolo commanded. Turning to Liza, he looked at her meaningfully, "You know what you have to do, correct?"

Liza nodded, "I know. We got back because the Vongola Guardians need the Arcobaleno Seals. After they are done receiving the Seals, I will be accompanying them back to the future. And yes, I will tell them about this Mare Ring." _Sorry, Byakuran-sama, but this is my duty as the boss of the Medici._

Nicolo nodded, "Good. It is good that you can accept your role easily." He gently took out the ring in the middle. It was a dark black color, made of steel, and was cold to the touch.

Liza accepted it, feeling slightly relieved as she was finally able to decide. Sliding the ring onto her finger, she gasped as it took hold of her. _Elizabeth Lovion, the seventieth boss of the Medici Famiglia._

_Who are you? _she thought.

_I am Cosimo de Medici. I am your ancestor, _the voice echoed around her mind. Liza could sense the power this man radiated. It was more than Xanxus' power, Byakuran's power even. _I am the founder of the Medici Famiglia. I trust that your four Guardians have explained everything?_

_Doesn't that mean I'll have to find the other two? And yes, they did explain it to me. I understand my duty, _Liza said respectfully.

_You will have to find the other two, but for the meantime, do your duty first. Byakuran must be stopped._

* * *

After the four Guardians left to their temporary housing, Liza took off to Tsuna's house. At the front door, she banged on it incessantly.

"What the- Liza?" Gokudera had flung open the door, to see Liza, hair dishevelled and eyes wide. "Are you okay?"

"Where is Reborn-san?" she asked urgently. "I need to talk to him!"

Gokudera shuffled back, surprised at her urgency. "He's upstairs, in Tenth's room."

Liza nodded her thanks, and ran up the stairs, flinging open the door. "Reborn-san! I need to talk to you!"

Reborn uncocked his gun, and turned to Liza. "Liza," he said in his adorable squeaky voice, "I'm tutoring Dame-Tsuna right now."

"This is urgent!" she pleaded, imploringly. "Please!"

He harrumphed, and jumped down from his perch on Tsuna's shoulder. Tsuna relaxed, obviously happy that his 'tutor' was finally gone. Reborn looked back, "Keep studying, Dame-Tsuna. When I come back, you better be able to know how to solve that problem." Tsuna nearly sobbed.

Liza followed Reborn out of the house and into the park. The Sun Arcobaleno turned to her expectantly, "What do you have to tell me?"

Liza took a deep breath, terrified. "A month after my father died, I was living alone in the apartment my father and I shared. Many people would come in and out, to hand out condolences, but they didn't all care much for me. But one day," she sighed, "this man came into our apartment, and introduced himself. He was sort of my guardian, for a few months. When I broke down from the loneliness, he would comfort me and understand me. He was different from the others, and I grew to love him. I fell in love with him. And one day, when he was leaving, due to the fact that I was going to be shipped off to Japan, he gave me a ring."

"Why are you telling me this?" Reborn asked, eyes narrowed.

Liza worried her lip, but drew out the chain that held her Mare ring. She showed it to Reborn, whose eyes widened, and he stared at her. Holding up a hand, she said, "Let me explain. That man was Byakuran, who had time travelled to the past to meet me. He told me about this ring, what I was supposed to do as the Funeral Wreath of the Mist. He told me how to deceive Tsuna."

"I should kill you right now." Reborn had his gun out, face hidden by the shadows of his fedora.

"I supposed you would want to," Liza said, "But please don't. I'm telling you this, because I finally realized that Byakuran isn't who I thought he was. I thought he was kind, loving, a understanding. I thought he was the epitome of perfection. Until a few days ago, I finally realized that he was a psychopath who wanted to rule the world." Bowing her head, she murmured, "Sorry."

"Why should I trust you? What would make me trust you?" Reborn demanded, gun still pointed at her forehead.

Liza slumped, "I don't have a reason for you to trust me, but I'm hoping you would trust me."

"That's a terrible reason," the baby snarled, finger at the trigger.

"Well," Liza thought frantically, "I could've attacked Tsuna while we were facing the Strau Mosca, and I could've let Gokudera die before the Ring Conflict, when we first met Belphegor."

Reborn held her gaze, staring her down. After a while, he uncocked the gun, and lowered it. "I assume you will tell Tsuna and the others?"

Liza nodded hastily, noticing the fact that Reborn hadn't changed Leon back to his chameleon form. "I will. I want to tell them when we get back into the future, so I don't have to tell Bianchi, Irie-san, Spanner and them separately."

"Irie Shoichi doesn't know that you are the Funeral Wreath of the Mist?" Reborn asked, bros furrowing.

"Irie-san is not a Funeral Wreath, and Byakuran-sama wanted to keep me hidden until he actually has the Vongola Rings in his hands," Liza explained.

"Irie Shoichi is the Funeral Wreath of the Sun. What do you mean by he's not a Funeral Wreath?" Reborn demanded.

"The Funeral Wreaths you know are all fake. There are six real Funeral Wreaths, including me. The other five, I have no idea who they are, but according to Byakuran-sama, they are extremely powerful," Liza rattled off, relieved that the baby believed her. "A-and," she hesitated, unsure of herself.

"And?"

Liza breathed in, and then slowly let the breath out. "There's an extremely special box that all of us real Funeral Wreaths have."

"Special?" Reborn urged. "Like the Vongola Box Weapons?"

Liza nodded, "Yeah, except, our boxes are called the Boxes of Carnage. And…" She pulled aside her shirt to reveal the surface of the box infused into her body. "It's apart of our bodies. When we insert our flames into it, it transforms our bodies into a half human, half animal hybrid. My Box of Carnage transforms me into a pterosaur hybrid, at least, that's what Byakuran-sama told me."

Reborn's face was a mask, but Liza could distinctly see signs of horror and disgust. "I think you are telling the truth."

"Thank you, Reborn, for giving me a chance," Liza bowed low.

**So, how do you think this was? Unexpected right? Do you like the Medici Famiglia? Are they too powerful? Tell me what you guys think! And, after this, I think I'm going to write a separate story about the Medici Famiglia, separate from this fanfic. **

**Read and review!**

**Grazie mille!**


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